Chuck vs the Game
by Costas TT
Summary: Post 4.2 AU. Chuck and Morgan must rescue Sarah and Casey after an operation gone wrong. They are all getting into something they could not foresee even in the wildest flights of their imagination. The inspiration for this came from something in the show.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Having pretty much exhausted the first three seasons of Chuck in my previous fics, I decided to delve a bit into season 4, using it as a springboard for a somewhat AU story, set post 4.2. This will include rather obvious references to a couple of movies. I won't (yet) reveal which ones, so as not to spoil it for you.

Naturally, standard disclaimers apply to this and all subsequent chapters (Now I don't have to repeat them in the A/N of every chapter). No beta, but proofread as usual.

In addition, I'd like to thank all of you who encouraged me to post more of my work. Hope you like the choice of plot for this one. It was a difficult choice, for I had plot outlines for a total of 4-5 stories. I'll tackle the rest some time in the future. But for now…

Enjoy!

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**Chuck vs the Game**

**Chapter 1 - A Day in the Life**

"What's the matter now, Walker?" Casey asked in his usual no-bullshit manner when he entered the new Castle and saw Sarah sitting behind a desk, holding a file folder open in front of her, but not really looking at it.

"Huh?" He'd startled her a bit, but she quickly put her agent mask back on. "What do you mean?"

"We know each other for what, three years now? I can see when something is off. What did the Moron do this time?"

"Casey, everything is fine," she replied, unconsciously playing with the hem of her shirt. "Chuck and I don't have secrets between us anymore, I finally got to unpack, and Devon is getting over the whole 'we are going to be parents, so much to do, so little time' freak out phase. Ellie's pregnancy is progressing normally, too. All in all, it's just peachy."

"Somehow, I don't buy that. Are you worried about having to lie to Ellie, trying to keep her from finding out that Bartowski's back in the spy business? Or is it something else? I've seen how you tend to zone out lately when off missions. Tell me, Walker. Getting it all out of your chest should help. And if you can't confide to your partner, who can you confide to? I need my partner at the top of her game, so I'm listening."

"In part I'm worried about Ellie finding out. I mean, she's pregnant and Chuck doesn't want her to worry about him on top of everything…"

"But that's not all."

"No. It's not. It's something he said to me after we returned from Milan."

*grunt* (go on)

Sarah took a deep breath and came clean. "He told me that Devon may have been right when he said that Chuck and I are next in line for marriage and kids."

"And that totally freaked you out."

"Yeah, it kind of did. Chuck and I are doing fine, but I'm still adjusting to having a home and a steady relationship. Why rock the boat?"

"You are joking, right?" Casey said and snickered, progressing quickly to boisterous laughter.

"It's not funny!"

"Yeah, it is. Look at you. Are you the same person that, a few months after we started working together, asked me and I quote 'Did you ever just want to have a normal life? Have a family, children?' Unquote. When we were benched while going after Lon Kirk, remember? I thought you'd be thrilled at the prospect of having a normal family, or as normal as it can be when you and the Nerd are involved."

"I still want all that," she said defensively.

"So where's the problem? Hmm, let me guess: You feel it's all happening too fast."

"Yeah," Sarah hesitantly admitted.

*grunt* (wuss)

"Come again?"

"You'll get over it. Just don't fight it when it happens."

"Thanks. Since when did you become an expert at giving relationship advice, by the way?"

"I've picked it up here and there." He then disappeared to the locker room and emerged a few minutes later, wearing a casual outfit instead of his Buy More uniform.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yep. I'm having dinner with my daughter. I'm following Grimes' advice and allowing her to integrate me into her life."

"Have fun," she said.

"I plan to. See you tomorrow, Walker."

"See you tomorrow, Casey." After her partner left she wondered if she should go to Morgan for relationship advice as well. It might work, but she preferred to face any problems together with Chuck. Finishing the report, she put the files away and went upstairs to get her Porsche. Chuck would already be at home waiting for her. She smiled at the prospect of getting a relaxing massage by her loving boyfriend, something she definitely needed after being hunched over a desk doing post-mission paperwork for so many hours.

Sarah went home. She deposited her keys in the bowl by the door and went to the kitchen to get some water to drink. Morgan was already in there, cooking.

"Hey Sarah, you're back," he said.

"Yeah. Is Chuck around? And what are you making? It smells good."

"I'm making my world famous fajitas with fried rice on the side, Mexican and Chinese cuisine combined for maximum effect. And Chuck isn't here. He took Ellie to the hospital."

"Is she all right?" Sarah asked, suddenly worried.

"She's fine. It's just a routine examination. Awesome couldn't make it because he had an emergency procedure to perform."

"Oh. That's good. About Ellie, I mean."

"Hey, don't worry. When your turn comes, Chuck won't miss your exams for the world, no matter how routine they'll be."

"What do you mean by that?" Sarah was once again caught off guard.

"Sarah, don't freak out on me, OK?" Morgan gripped her shoulders and looked into her now wide eyes. "I'm saying that some day you and Chuck are going to give me a nephew or a niece to play with. It doesn't have to be tomorrow, you know. I see how you and Chuck are taking everything slowly. You finally unpacked after living here for months. In time you'll get comfortable with the idea of starting your own family with Chuck. There's no rush."

"I'm sorry, Morgan. It's just… all this stuff is new to me."

"Give my buddy some credit. He understands how it is for you."

"Thanks."

With nothing else to do, Sarah decided to help Morgan prepare dinner. Another good thing that resulted from her long term assignment in Burbank was that she was now a more than adequate cook. So, when Chuck walked in after escorting Ellie home, he found his best friend and the love of his life wearing aprons and fussing about in the kitchen, acknowledging his presence with big smiles before turning their attention back to whatever they were working on. He just stood there watching them with a huge happy smile on his face. Eventually Sarah finished her assigned task and went to greet her boyfriend. She kissed him full on the lips.

"So, Chuck," she said, "how's Ellie doing?"

"The OBGYN said that everything is as it should be. Right now she's gorging herself on the junk food she had a sudden craving for while we were on the way back here."

"You shouldn't have left her alone."

"She's not alone; Awesome is back and she's his problem now."

"His _problem_?"

"Hey! Try dealing with a hormonal pregnant Ellie for more than a few minutes. It's not easy." He had a meaningful smile on his face and she noticed it.

"Don't," she said playfully.

"Don't what?"

"I know what you were about to say, or at least what you wanted to say."

"And what might that be?"

"You were thinking that I'll be insufferable when I get pregnant," Sarah said. He pulled her close and kissed her.

"Thanks," he said when he let her go.

"For what?"

"For saying 'when' instead of 'if'. Sarah, there is no need to rush things, you know. You freaked out for nothing."

"You too noticed?"

"Kind of hard not to. I know you and can tell your moods."

"Don't get me wrong Chuck, I want a family. But I need to ease into the concept of starting one of my own eventually."

"Take your time."

"Dinner's ready," Morgan interrupted them. "Clear the table."

After dinner they just sat together in the living room and watched TV. Morgan had also taken some food to the Woodcombs. Ellie had devoured most of it, of course. When the movie was over, Sarah went to take a shower. Chuck was already in bed when she entered their room, clad in one of his shirts and a cotton bra and panty set, one of her favorite sleepwear choices.

"You've been stealing my shirts," he said, mock-accusingly.

"They are really comfortable. It's not like you wear them all the time. You mostly wear the Nerd Herd shirts," she replied, getting in bed beside him. "Anyway, you have but yourself to blame for this."

"Me? How come?"

"Does Paris ring a bell?" It did ring a bell, all right. He remembered what he'd done after he'd saved her from Shaw. While she'd still been unconscious he'd put his shirt on her before tucking her in. "Wearing your shirts makes me remember our first time together. It's a nice feeling."

"Uh-huh," he agreed, wrapping her in his arms. She nuzzled her face against his neck. He then gave her a massage.

"I love you, Chuck," she whispered before relaxing and falling asleep.

The morning found them sleeping peacefully in each other's arms. They had forgotten to set the alarm clock and they didn't get up early. Not that it mattered. Sarah was no longer working at the Orange Orange and since Morgan was now the manager of the Buy More he could easily cover for Chuck. Plus there was no mission to worry about. Morgan happened to glance inside their room through the slightly ajar door as he passed by and smiled. He'd give his buddy the day off. He deserved it and so did Sarah. He left them a note on the kitchen counter informing them that they didn't have to go to work today.

"Hey, Grimes," Casey said, "you seen Bartowski anywhere?"

"Yes, John, he's at home. I gave him the day off. I know we didn't get a new mission. He and Sarah could use some rest. You can take the day off too, if you like. I'll call you guys if anything comes up."

"Thanks Grimes, but I think I'll stay here. I have a few things to take care of downstairs. You just keep an eye on those imbeciles, Jeff and Lester."

"Rest assured, Casey, I can keep them under control." Morgan pondered if he should tell Casey about his idea of making him the new assistant manager of the Burbank Buy More. He figured it would be easier to explain his absences while on missions to the old gang of the Buy Morons he'd brought back to maintain the cover of an innocuous electronics store. In the end he decided to announce Casey's promotion on the first occasion when everyone, including Alex, would be gathered together, like a family dinner. It would make it harder for the big man to refuse, too. Morgan was certain that General Beckman would not object. She might even find his reasons valid, and in any case she'd given him free hand running the store.

Sarah woke up slowly. She yawned and glanced sleepily at the alarm clock. Her eyes flew wide open.

"Chuck! Chuck, wake up!" She shook him awake and none too gently either.

"Sarah, what's wrong?"

"Chuck, it's almost eleven in the morning!"

"Crap!"

"Yeah… You hit the shower. I'll make some coffee."

"OK."

Sarah ran to the kitchen without even bothering to change from her sleepwear to something less revealing. Then she saw Morgan's note. _Chuck, Sarah, I think you could both use a day off. Morgan Grimes, Manager, Burbank Buy More_, it read. She smiled and went to the bathroom, where Chuck was trying to break all records for the quickest shower ever.

"Honey," she said, "no need to rush, Morgan gave you the day off."

"He did?"

"He left us a note in the kitchen," she said, showing it to him.

"How very considerate of him." He stepped out of the shower, still dripping wet and approached Sarah.

"Towel off first," she said. "Or you'll make me all wet."

"Don't I usually have that effect on you?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Coffee ready?" Chuck asked, smiling.

"No, I saw the note and came to tell you immediately."

"Then you should go and start making us some," he said, swatting her on her well rounded bottom. She giggled and padded to the kitchen. Chuck was grateful that she didn't jump him (yet), even though he was completely naked. He needed at least one cup of coffee first, in order to start functioning normally. He went back to his room and got dressed, taking his time and allowing Sarah to get the coffee ready.

When he got to the kitchen, Sarah was getting ready to pour them a mug of coffee each. He stood behind her, admiring her figure. She noticed his reflection on the window.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Morgan was right," he said simply.

"He was right about what?" Sarah persisted.

"I _am_ dating a leggy Valkyrie who has an aversion to clothing." He moved to her and looped his arms around her slim waist.

"He said that?"

"Uh-huh," he replied, nuzzling her neck. "If I remember correctly, it was on the day we got the assignment to work with the Turners," he said. Sarah pursed her lips as she tried to remember that day.

"Oh, you mean the night before that, when I got up to get some orange juice?"

"Yeah."

"What can I say? You and my clothes don't exactly mix when we're at home." Sarah's statement was quite true. Her sleepwear consisted of items that could be removed with a minimum of fuss: Chuck's shirts, T-shirts or tank tops over comfortable cotton underwear, or, when she was in a more romantic (read: horny) mood, really sexy lingerie.

"That seemed to apply even before we became an official couple."

"Meaning?" Sarah asked, handing him his coffee.

"Case in point," he said, looking dead serious. "Our first cover sleepover. You were wearing purple lingerie that didn't cover a thing."

"You said I looked like a prostitute, as I recall."

"A mistake I am not likely to repeat, ever."

"You'd better not," she said with a smile. "Because, like I said back then, I was trying to keep up appearances, for cover. Plus I was hoping you'd change your mind about breaking up our cover relationship." She smiled. Chuck briefly considered mentioning the black version of that outfit Sarah had been wearing in his nightmare before the Tyler Martin mission. In the end he decided to save this particular piece of information for later.

"Another example," he continued. "The 24/7 protection detail when Cole was abducted by Fulcrum. I didn't get a moment's sleep, knowing that you were in bed right next to me, wearing only a T-shirt and those pink boy shorts."

"I slept like a baby back then."

"I know. You were using me as a pillow for most of the night."

"That explains it."

Having the day off from both the Buy More and spy stuff meant that they could just relax and do whatever a normal couple would see fit to do. Sarah insisted that they pay a visit to Ellie, keeping her company until Devon returned from the hospital. Her agent skills once again came in handy, as she covertly observed Chuck's sister, mentally taking notes on how the pregnancy was affecting her. Ellie for her part was glad to see her little brother so happy.

"You shouldn't insist on sharing all that stuff with me, Ellie," Sarah said around a mouthful of junk food. "I have to keep in shape, you know."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Chuck said off-handedly. "You're burning enough calories with me as it is." Fortunately Sarah had swallowed her bite and did not choke on it. She did, however, blush beet red.

"Chuck!"

"Don't mind him, Sarah," said Ellie. "But he's right. Eat up, you'll need your strength." The last comment made Sarah's face turn an even deeper shade of red.

"Since when did you two begin to sound like Devon?"

"Blame Ellie's turn of speech on her pregnancy hormones. As for me, I'm just happy things are great between the two of us."

"I'd love some peaches," Ellie said suddenly. Chuck and Sarah looked at her and then at each other. Knowing it would be best not to antagonize a pregnant Ellie, Chuck took out his phone and called Devon.

"Hey Captain, how're you doing? … Great! Listen, since you are on your way home, can you pick up some peaches for Ellie? Anything you can lay your hands on: fresh peaches, peach jam, peach compote, the works… Thanks. See you later." He turned to the two women he loved most in his life. "Problem solved," he said smugly. Sarah and Ellie laughed.

After Devon returned with a generous supply of peaches and related products for his wife, Chuck and Sarah returned to their apartment.

"I think we can safely skip dinner," Sarah said. "I'm full."

"Uh-huh."

"How could she eat that stuff, anyway? I thought she didn't like it at all."

"Sarah, she's pregnant."

"You lost me there."

"Perhaps you should read one of her pregnancy books. But let me illustrate the point with another example."

"Such as?"

"Imagine you are pregnant."

"Okay. What next?"

"You don't normally like olives, but I think a pregnant you would gladly eat them, maybe even crave them."

"Blows the mind."

"It's just a matter of hormones."

"And the fact that a pregnant woman is eating for two."

"That too."

They were cuddling together on the couch, watching TV when Morgan and Casey returned from the Buy More.

"Walker, Moron," Casey said, "briefing with the General in an hour at my place. Be there."

"Okie-dokie," replied Chuck. "Morgan, buddy, will you be attending as well?"

"Of course I will. I am, after all, a full member of the team."

"Does the General have a new mission for us?" Sarah asked.

"Looks like it," replied Morgan.

Chuck, Sarah and Morgan were crossing the courtyard on their way to Casey's place when Ellie spotted them.

"Hey guys, are you going to John's?"

"Uh, yes, sis, we are."

"Chuck, I thought you were done with the CIA."

"I may no longer be an agent, but I still have the you-know-what in my head, Ellie. Thus, on occasion, my, um, input is required. All I do is review files and report any findings. It's no big deal."

"Oh. Well, in that case, go do whatever it is you do."

The four settled in their chairs and waited for Beckman to appear on the screen. They didn't have to wait long.

"Good evening people," the General said. She was back in her military uniform, after having worn a Buy More manager's outfit for a few weeks.

"Good evening General," the others chorused.

"On to the matter at hand; Colonel Casey, Agents Walker and Grimes, I have a mission for you. It's unrelated to Volkoff. In fact, you are to gather intelligence at a facility used by the Ring before it was taken down. We learned of its existence from the Elders' interrogations. It should be easy enough. The pertinent information is already in your computer, Colonel. Any questions?"

"Uh, yes ma'am," said Chuck. "What about me?"

"There will be some new equipment delivered to the new Castle, Agent Bartowski. Use your Nerd Herd skills to install it. It's for the exclusive use of your team. It should not be too difficult for you to do the job."

"Understood, General."

"That will be all. Goodnight." Beckman signed off.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N (1):** First of all a big thank you for your encouraging reviews on the first chapter. Another thank you goes to all those who put this story on their alert list and/or added it to their favorites.

Without further ado, here's the next installment.

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**Chapter 2**** -**** Mission without Bartowski**

The following day started normally. According to their orders, Sarah, Casey and Morgan would go to investigate the former Ring warehouse after hours, so they had plenty of time to kill. Chuck busied himself with various Nerd Herd tasks, as the equipment he was to install had not yet arrived. He had just showed Greta, the tall blonde agent who posed as a fellow Nerd Herder, how to perform a common and easy fix on a cell phone when he had an idea.

"Greta, I have to go out for a while. Can you hold the fort here?"

"No problem, Agent Bartowski," she replied.

"Call me Chuck, like everyone else." He smiled. "I strongly suggest that you act like a Nerd Herder and not like an agent in here. Oh, and please don't kill Jeff or Lester. Casey has called dibs on them," he joked.

"Ha-ha, you got it, Chuck. Mind if I hurt Lester just a little bit, though?"

"Threaten him with a sexual harassment lawsuit first. And if all else fails, try the peppermint flavored knockout spray on them. I think it'll work, even on Jeff. The KGB tranq pen is another proven option." He made his way out of the store, thinking that maybe he should ease up on the team bonding with the new Herders, one in particular: Greta. He didn't want Sarah's jealous streak surfacing again. Granted, it was mostly about brunettes, but he didn't want to give her the wrong ideas. It had been bad enough with Sofia Stepanova. He only had eyes for one girl, meaning Sarah and only Sarah. _Speak of the she-Devil_, he thought as he saw his girlfriend approaching.

"Hey Chuck," she said brightly. "Where are you going?"

"I just have an errand to run. I won't be long, I hope."

"See you later, then." She turned to go inside the Buy More, but stopped and turned around. "Chuck?"

"Uh, yes, Sarah?"

"What were you doing with Greta just two minutes ago?" Uh-oh, she'd noticed.

"The same thing I do with every new Nerd Herder. I was giving her some pointers. In the case of the female Nerd Herders, said pointers include tips on avoiding Jeff and Lester. Not that Greta would have any problems handling them, but I told her that Casey wants to be the one to terminate them." His explanation made sense and Sarah believed him. She even laughed at the 'Kill Jeffster' joke.

Chuck got in the Herder and went to a CIA facility located in an industrial area just outside of LA, making a stop on the way. His Carmichael credentials made passing through security a breeze. He soon found the office he wanted to go to and knocked on the door.

"Come in," answered a voice from inside.

"Hey, Maneasel!" Chuck said. "How are you doing?"

"Chuck! Man, it's been a long time. I'm fine," Manoosh Depak replied.

"They set you up pretty nicely here."

"Thanks to you, buddy. I learned that your team took down the Ring. After that the government had no reason to hold me, so they offered me a job and I took it. What can I do for you?"

"First, I can do something for you. I got you a nacho sampler from your favorite restaurant."

"You did? Chuck, you just saved my life, thanks. The food in the cafeteria is more than edible, but I'm suffering from a nacho sampler withdrawal syndrome, since I haven't had any for three days." They both laughed.

"You are welcome. Listen, can you still make those sunglasses?"

"They had me working on other projects, but I still found the time to improve on the previous model." He moved to a safe, opened it and extracted two pairs of sunglasses, both with extra lenses. "Here you go. I made the chip even smaller to fit inside the frame of the ballistic glasses and they are more rugged, too. The other pair can be worn either as sunglasses or as regular glasses."

"Excellent work, Manoosh. I'll take both pairs."

"Sure, here you go. They come with an extended warranty, too," Manoosh said, keeping a straight face. "Before I forget: You can use them with any lens. The chip automatically adjusts the contrast. Just put them on and hit this here button."

"So, it doesn't have to be the dark lens only."

"Exactly." At that point, there was another knock on the door. "It's open!" Manoosh yelled.

"Hi Manoosh," said the pretty blonde who entered. "Who's your friend?"

"Carmichael, Charles Carmichael," Chuck introduced himself, doing his Sean Connery imitation.

"Charles Carmichael? _Agent_ Charles Carmichael? _The_ Agent Charles Carmichael?" The girl was starstruck. She looked at him in a very obvious display of hero worship.

"The one and only. But call me Chuck." Chuck and Manoosh were smiling.

"Chuck," said Manoosh, "meet Agent Adrienne Collins, my former handler and now girlfriend."

"Well, pal, it seems blondes are attracted to us nerds," Chuck joked.

"You and Sarah," Manoosh deduced. "You are an item."

"Uh-huh. She'd send her regards, if she knew I was here."

"Tell her I said hi."

"Will do. Gotta go now. Adrienne, it was a pleasure meeting you. Take care of my friend."

"I will, sir… um, Chuck."

"Take care, Chuck."

"We should go out for drinks some day; you and Adrienne and me and Sarah."

"Can't wait, pal."

Chuck left the CIA facility and drove back to the Buy More. He parked the Herder and went in. Morgan was in the manager's office, crunching some numbers, obviously satisfied with the sales volume. He looked up and saw Chuck enter.

"Hey, buddy, where have you been?"

"Getting something you might find useful later today."

"I'm intrigued. What is it?"

"Remember when I told you about an asset I had to burn once?"

"Yeah, that engineer guy who made Intersect glasses."

"The same. Now that the Ring is gone, he is a government employee instead of an internee. He gave me these. Take them, they are for you."

"Thanks!" Morgan was about to try the glasses on, but hesitated. "Uh, Chuck, I also recall you telling me that an Intersect download can be dangerous."

"Don't worry, buddy, this is a low volume download and it's only temporary. You are in no danger at all. It's only the martial arts and weapons handling stuff."

"So they are safe?"

"Absolutely. Look, I know Sarah and Casey will be with you on the mission, but I'm still a little concerned about you, since I won't be coming along. I'll feel a lot better knowing that I gave you the means to defend yourself."

"Much appreciated, Chuck, thanks."

"You are most welcome, little buddy. Have you seen Sarah anywhere?"

"I think she went, y' know, _downstairs_."

"I'll go look."

"Roger that."

As he headed to the break room access to Castle, he saw Casey on his favorite Buy More task: moving a Beast Master. He smiled and opened the secret door. Descending into the secret subterranean base, he went straight to the main room. She was sitting at a desk, her back to him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Chuck asked, but got no reply. Coming closer, he saw that Sarah had the iPod ear buds on. Not wanting to startle her and in the process get a knife or a bullet in him, he circled around and approached her from the front. She saw him out of the corner of her eye and looked up.

"Chuck," she said, "I didn't notice you come in."

"I called out to you, but you were listening to your iPod."

"It's the music selection you made for me." She got up and kissed him. "Where were you?"

"I was visiting a friend."

"Anyone I know?"

"Manoosh. He says hi."

"How is he?"

"He's doing great. He works as an engineer for the CIA now. And he has a girlfriend, who happens to be a blonde CIA agent. I'm beginning to think there may be something in the DNA of beautiful CIA blondes that causes them to fall for their assets," he teased her.

"Very funny," she said. "What were you doing there, anyway?"

"I got combat skills Intersect glasses for Morgan. Since I won't be there to watch over him, I wanted to make sure he'll be able to defend himself should the need arise."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Chuck."

'Thank you Sarah."

"Where is Casey?"

"Upstairs, selling Beast Masters."

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"To the supply closet, where else?" Sarah said with a smile that was full of promises. She then led him by his tie towards their private hideout. A goofy grin slowly worked its way across his face as he followed her.

-O-

"Why the Hell can't you two keep it in your pants for a few hours?" Casey complained as he saw his partners come into the main room of the Castle. Sarah was positively glowing with post-coital bliss. Chuck's shirt was half-unbuttoned and his tie was askew. "Maybe you should move the stuff from the closet to a holding cell and convert it into a bedroom. Oops. I shouldn't be giving you ideas."

"Sorry I'm late, I was doing some pre-mission recon," said Morgan before Chuck and Sarah had the chance to answer Casey's barb with one of their own.

"What kind of recon were you doing, numb nuts?"

"This," Morgan said, handing Casey some printouts. "I used Google Earth to get an idea of the area around the target building."

"You know our system offers much higher resolution, don't you?" Chuck asked.

"Sure, but I was too busy to come down here."

"Still, we can work with these," Casey said, studying the satellite images.

"I have already marked some spots where we can park the van. It'll be out of sight and still easy to get to if we need to make a quick getaway."

"Good job, Morgan," said Sarah approvingly.

"Thank you Sarah." They spent several more minutes planning the operation. No opposition was expected, so it was going to be simple. Get in, search the place, retrieve any worthwhile intel, call another team in to take over if necessary, return to their base, report to the General and go home. As they were wrapping up the planning session, one of the screens came to life.

"Chuck," Greta said, "your stuff has arrived. You can pick it up at the back door of the Double O."

"Thanks Greta. By the way, can I get you and the others some frozen yogurt?"

"No thanks. I won't be coming over."

"I can send it to you."

"In that case, I'd love some Tropical Blast, heavy on the toppings. I'll text you with what the other guys want."

"You'll have it in five." Chuck signed off. He hesitantly turned to look at Sarah, almost certain that she'd be mad at him. She wasn't. In fact she was smiling. Chuck was just being… Chuck the nice guy.

While Chuck was taking delivery of the equipment he was to install and sending fro-yo to the Buy More for the NSA and CIA personnel there, Sarah, Morgan and Casey went to the van.

"Finally, another mission without Bartowski," Casey said, rubbing his hands together in delight. "I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Yeah, right," said Sarah. "You missed him as much as I did before he came back into the fold."

"And besides, I'm here. You can say I'm Chuck's proxy, kind of," added Morgan.

"Grrrrrr…"

"It appears we struck a nerve here, Sarah," Morgan said.

"So it seems," she agreed.

"Dare I remind you that we have a mission? And you, numb nuts, stay in the van!"

"Yes sir, Colonel, sir!"

In the meantime Chuck was doing one of the things he liked most in life: tinkering with electronics. The equipment General Beckman had sent them was top of the line and would greatly enhance the operational capabilities of the team. He spent a few minutes reading the installation manuals and then moved the hardware to the designated spot. Taking the parts out of the boxes they came in, he started assembling the system and installing it in the selected workstations. He was halfway through when his phone rang.

"Hello," he said.

"Chuck, where are you?" Ellie asked.

"I'm on an install," he replied. It was true, after all.

"You're on an install? At this hour?"

"It's for Casey and Sarah. Can't really talk about it."

"Is that all you're doing?"

"Yes, Ellie, it is. I'll be done with it in a couple of hours and then I'll come back home." He breathed a sigh of relief when his sister hung up. At least this time he wasn't lying to her. He really wanted to tell her that he was back in the spy business, but now he had only one goal: find his Mom and reunite her with the family. She was going to be a grandmother and he wanted her to share the happiness with her children, son in law and future daughter in law (Sarah).

Casey cautiously drove the van around the warehouse a couple of times. Sarah and Morgan were busy with the surveillance equipment, doing a thermal sensor sweep of the premises. Fortunately, the whole area was deserted, not unusual for this hour. They also placed a number of remotely controlled cameras at strategic locations around their objective. That way Morgan could keep an eye on the surrounding area and alert the others if there was any suspicious activity. Once they confirmed that the systems were working properly, Sarah and Casey left the van and hurried to the warehouse.

"Cobra, do you see anything?" Sarah asked, using Morgan's preferred callsign. It amused her to hear Casey grunt in disgust behind her.

"The whole area is clear. Proceed to the main objective," reported Morgan.

"Roger that," Sarah said and swiftly picked the locks of the side entrance. She and Casey entered, guns drawn just in case. Even though the thermal imaging sensor did not indicate any human presence inside, one could never be too careful. Switching on their flashlights, they moved to the main floor.

"There is nothing of interest in here," said Casey, after a few minutes of looking into crates and boxes, most of which were empty. The rest contained mostly office supplies and some weapons and ammunition.

"Let's check the offices," Sarah suggested. The upstairs offices yielded almost nothing of interest. There were a few computers there, so they packed them and took them to the van, so that Beckman's analysts could take a good look at them later.

Chuck finished the installation of the new equipment and stood back to admire his handiwork. "Not bad," he mused. He quickly double checked to see if all connections had been made properly. Satisfied that all was as it should be, he pulled up a chair and sat down to turn the system on and test it. The results of the initial diagnostics were good. He spent a few more minutes to make sure everything worked as advertised and there was no interference with the preexisting equipment they had. All tasks finally completed, he discreetly exited the yogurt shop through the back door, went to get the Herder and drove home. On the way he called Ellie and asked if she wanted anything. She said that she and Devon had it pretty much covered, but still invited him over to their place and he accepted.

"Hey guys," he greeted the happy couple as he entered their apartment.

"Hey bro," Devon said. "How was the Buy More today?"

"I had an install that took quite a while, but otherwise it was OK," he shrugged.

"Where is Sarah anyway?" Ellie asked.

"She's at work with Casey and Morgan," replied Chuck with more than a hint of sadness in his voice. He wasn't comfortable with letting Sarah go on missions without him. At least, before Beckman had forced him back into the CIA, he'd kept himself busy looking for his mother.

"Chuck, I know a part of you wants to be out there with her, but remember, you made me a promise. I can't lose you too," Ellie said, correctly interpreting his mood.

"I know, sis." Lying again to Ellie didn't make the whole situation better. But he justified it as necessary in order to find his mom. Ellie had the kid she was carrying in her womb to worry about. She needn't worry about him as well. He could take care of himself.

"What's Morgan doing with Sarah and Casey?" Devon asked.

"In case you forgot, Captain, he's in the spy business, too."

"That's kind of a bit hard to remember, bro. After all, he's Morgan."

"He's still Morgan, but he's changed for the better."

"Has to have changed, since John has not yet killed him for dating his daughter," Ellie added good-naturedly. They all laughed. They had to admit, though, that Morgan and Alex were a cute couple.

"Walker, there is another door over there," Casey said when they returned to the warehouse after the last trip to load the computers in the van.

"Where?" Sarah asked.

"Over there, behind those empty crates," replied Casey. "Cobra, status report."

"All clear. No movement around the warehouse and I'm still getting good signals from your lipstick cams and radios," said Morgan before finishing his grape soda on the rocks. "Nothing inside either, except for you two," he added reassuringly.

"Shall we check that room?"

"By all means, Walker."

Sarah and Casey moved to the door and opened it cautiously. There was no sound or any other sign of human presence coming from inside the room, so they went in. Playing the beams of their flashlights around, they saw that it was completely empty.

"There's nothing in here," Sarah said.

"Copy that," answered Morgan.

Suddenly, the lights in the room came on, catching all three agents by surprise. Sarah and Casey blinked frantically, trying to get their eyes to adjust to the bright light.

"Colonel Casey, Agent Walker, what a pleasant surprise," said a voice that appeared to come from all around the room. "I was looking forward to some company, but certainly did not expect such distinguished guests." The door slammed shut as if pushed by an invisible hand and the distinct metallic sound of locking bolts clicking into place was heard.

"Who the Hell are you?" Casey growled, alert for any threat.

"Guys, what's going on in there?" Morgan asked, worried.

"Casey, GAS!" Sarah yelled as the room began to fill with an ominous cloud.

"Shit! Cobra, hightail it outta here and come back with a containment unit," Casey whispered urgently into his communicator.

"I can't leave you guys here," objected Morgan.

"Do it!" Sarah commanded. She was beginning to feel the effects of the gas now and backed up until her back made contact with the wall. "Tell him… tell him I love him, okay?" Her legs couldn't support her weight any longer. She slid down the wall, until she was sitting on the floor. "Go, now… tell him," she said, just before her world went black. Morgan could only watch horrified as the picture from Casey's camera wobbled and then blurred momentarily as Casey dropped to the floor. When the image was stabilized again, all he could see was Sarah's motionless form. Then the lights went out and the room was once again thrown into darkness.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," Morgan muttered as he moved to the driver's seat of the van, started the engine and sped back towards Burbank. "Hold tight guys, I'll bring help," he said under his breath.

When he arrived at Echo Park, he went straight to the apartment, but stopped when he saw that no lights were on inside. He correctly guessed that Chuck was at the Woodcombs'. He ran across the courtyard and pounded on the door.

"Morgan, you're back," said Devon when he answered the door. And then he saw the look on the short man's face. "Is everything OK?" Morgan ignored him and sought out his best friend.

"Chuck, dude," he said, "we have a problem."

* * *

**A/N (2):** I feel that it is only proper to mention another story, from which I got the idea to include Manoosh in this fic. Said story is none other than "Chuck vs Sarah, Sam and Lady Valkrie" by ThereIsAnother. I think it is thoroughly enjoyable and I heartily recommend it to those who have not yet read it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** The plot thickens…

Again, thanks for your support. Much appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Total Recall**

"Chuck, dude, we have a problem." Upon hearing Morgan's words, Chuck was up in a flash.

"Morgan, what happened? Where is Sarah? Where is Casey? Are they OK?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I'll tell you all about it, but right now we need to call for backup." He also motioned with his eyes towards Ellie and Awesome. There were some things they had no need to know of. "There is no one at the Buy More and I don't know the codes to activate the communications systems. I need to contact the General, now."

"OK, little buddy, come with me. Fortunately, Casey gave me keys to his apartment to have in case of emergency and never asked for them back," he said that to make having the keys believable to Ellie. In reality, he had them because he was again an agent. "Let's go!" Chuck and Morgan ran to Casey's apartment and let themselves in. Chuck quickly moved to a computer and typed his access code. He added another code which was a request for priority contact with the General. Immediately, her image appeared on the screen.

"What is it, Mr. Bartowski?"

"General, we have a problem. Morgan?"

"Ma'am," began Morgan, "Colonel Casey, Agent Walker and I went to the warehouse as ordered. Casey and Sarah went in and found just some computers, which were retrieved for analysis. Then they opted to take one last look inside the warehouse and they entered a completely empty room."

"And then?" Beckman asked impatiently.

"It was a trap, General. The room went into lockdown and someone addressed them, by their names, I might add. He said he expected company to arrive at some point, but not such distinguished guests, as he phrased it. Then the room started filling with a gas that incapacitated Sarah and Casey. They did order me to leave and return with a containment team before passing out." Morgan finished his report and looked at Chuck and Beckman. They were both stunned by the recent events. Chuck recovered first.

"General, I need your permission to request tactical support from Colonel Sanders' outfit. This is big. We may be facing a resurgent Ring or a splinter organization."

"Permission granted, Agent Bartowski. Do what you have to do. I'm giving you full authority to use any personnel and equipment as you see fit."

"Thank you ma'am."

"Keep me informed of your progress. If there isn't anything else…"

"Actually, General, there is," said Chuck.

"What?"

"Morgan said that whoever is behind this addressed both Sarah and Casey by name. It's only prudent to assume that he knows me, too. Thus we need to ensure the safety of my family and Casey's family as well, before we proceed."

"You are absolutely right, Chuck. I'll assign agents to protect them immediately."

"General, we'll need agents we can trust."

"Do you have anyone in particular in mind?"

"Yes ma'am. I'd like agents Carina Miller of the DEA and Alexandra Forrest of the CIA for this assignment. I've worked with both of them in the past and I know I can trust them."

"Very well, Mr. Bartowski. I'll send them to Burbank as soon as possible."

"Thank you ma'am." The call was terminated.

"So, what do we do now?" Morgan asked.

"I'll call for some help," Chuck replied and used Casey's system to contact Colonel Sanders and arrange for tactical support on location.

They then went outside. Chuck wanted to review the footage from the mission and get an idea about what they were going up against. Morgan was taking him to the van, when Ellie came into the courtyard.

"Chuck," she said, "did you help Morgan call for reinforcements?"

"Yes, Ellie, I did. And I'm part of the reinforcements."

"What? Chuck, you promised… You know I can't protect you if you get back in the spy world."

"Ellie, I know you promised Dad to protect me, but I'm old enough, not to mention more than qualified, to take care of myself now. It's my turn to protect those I love."

"Chuck, please, no."

"This is Sarah we are talking about, and Casey! If rescuing them means that I have to become a spy again, I'll gladly do it! I'd prefer doing it with your approval, but I'm going with or without it."

"Are you sure that this is what you want?"

"Yes. Family and friends mean everything to me. I'll do everything in my power to get them back."

"Go then," Ellie said, her eyes brimming with tears.

"When we are done, I'll call you to get dinner ready," Chuck said, trying to cheer his sister up.

"I'll throw you guys a welcome back party," she replied gamely.

"Devon," said Chuck, "take care of my sister like you always do."

"I will, bro, don't worry."

"One more thing; whoever took Sarah and Casey knew them both by name. He may know me too, so I've arranged for some protection for you. A couple of agents that I have worked with before and I trust will be here soon. Morgan, you go to Kathleen's and get her and Alex here. They might need protection too."

"You got it buddy. Oh, what do I tell them?"

"Feel free to tell Alex that it's about her father. Has Casey spoken to Kathleen yet?"

"Not yet. So far he's only been talking to Alex."

"Tell her the same excuse we invented when Keller went after her. That someone may try to use them to get to a friend of Alex Coburn's. Make sure you and Alex are on the same page first."

"Shouldn't I tell her the truth outright?"

"Casey himself has to do that."

"Okay, buddy, I'm going to their place now."

"Good. I'll see what the cameras recorded. If you hurry, you'll be here in time for us to go meet the tactical team."

"Don't start without me, Chuck."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Morgan took the Herder and drove off to get Kathleen and Alex, while Chuck went over the available intel in the van. Fortunately, it was only a short drive. He knocked on the door and Alex answered it.

"Morgan! What a nice surprise," she said enthusiastically and hugged him.

"I wish the circumstances would be better, Alex. I need you to listen to me."

"Did something happen to my dad?"

"Can't really talk about it, but you and your mom will have to come with me."

"Morgan, what happened?" Alex insisted.

"I don't think John or Sarah were harmed, but they were taken by person or persons unknown. Whoever did this knew them, Alex. As a precaution, we are getting Chuck's family, you and your mom some protection."

"What do I tell mom?"

"The same story we told her when I helped you get off grid the last time we had to: that someone may try to get to a close friend of your father's through you."

"Why can't we just tell her the truth?"

"Chuck says that John himself has to find the courage to do it."

Alex nodded. "I'll talk to mom," she said.

"Hurry up."

Soon, Alex and Kathleen had packed a bag each and Morgan was driving them back to Echo Park. Kathleen was understandably nervous. The last time she'd been told that the crisis was over for good. Seeing how calm her daughter was, however, gave her more strength. It also got her thinking. Alex must know something she didn't.

"I know you," was the first thing Kathleen said when she saw Chuck. "You are the guy from the gas company who saved me a few months ago."

"I'm with the CIA actually, but it's nice to formally meet you, Ms. McHugh. I'm Chuck Bartowski." They shook hands and then he introduced her to Ellie and Devon and told them all to stay inside until the agents assigned to protect them arrived. He'd had the forethought to tell Ellie not to reveal anything about Casey to Kathleen.

"Chuck, wait! How are we to recognize those agents?"

"They are both women. They are both blondes, unless one of them has dyed her hair red again. And I think that you may even recognize one of them."

"Uh, Chuck," Morgan interrupted, "I think they're already here. Hello Carina."

Chuck turned and saw the two blonde agents at the entrance to the courtyard. "Carina! How did you get here so fast?"

"I was in town to see Sarah."

"I know you," Ellie said to Alex Forrest before Carina had the chance to continue her conversation with Chuck. "You were the stripper at my husband's bachelor party."

"I was, ma'am. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Agent Alexandra Forrest, CIA. And I'd like to apologize for what happened. You and your husband are law abiding citizens and your taxes pay my salary. I did not intend to cause you any trouble. But I had a cover to maintain back then and I had to go along with it, no matter how much I disliked it."

"Whose idea was the picture taking thing anyway?" Devon asked.

"I'm guessing it was Jeff and Lester," Ellie replied. "I caught them looking at the photos in the Buy More."

"Actually, Devon, it was your UCLA frat bros," Morgan said. Incredibly, Devon smiled.

"I hope they paid you well," he told Alex.

"They did," she admitted with a tight smile. "So, Agent Bartowski, congratulations on becoming an agent by the way, what's the situation?"

"OK ladies," Chuck said, "Agent Walker and Colonel Casey were taken by persons unknown earlier tonight. Carina, Alex, you are to protect my family and the family of a close friend of Casey's while Morgan and I lead the operation to reacquire Sarah and Casey." He deliberately didn't tell them that they'd be in fact protecting Casey's family.

"No way. I want in on the operation," Carina said.

"So do I. I have the greatest respect for Colonel Casey and I'd consider it a privilege to help."

"I know how you both feel, but it's equally important to make sure that nothing happens to their loved ones."

"One question."

"What is it, Carina?"

"Are you and Sarah finally together?"

"We are."

"Okay. I'll do it."

"And you, Alex?"

"There is nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?"

"No."

"I'm in."

"Good. Casey's apartment has all the surveillance and communications equipment you'll need, plus it's well stocked with weapons and ammunition. You can use it as your base of operations. Kathleen, you and your daughter can take my apartment."

"Thank you Chuck."

"Ellie, Devon, help Kathleen and Alex get settled in. Morgan, go warm up the van. Carina, Alex, come with me. I'll show you Casey's place." He spent a few minutes briefing Carina and Alex on the systems in Casey's apartment and the layout of the apartment complex. He also informed them that they had access to Castle as well and could request assistance from the Buy More substation if necessary.

Having watched the footage from the lipstick cams Sarah and Casey had been wearing, Chuck knew what he needed to watch out for. He'd seen someone destroy Sarah's camera and drag her out of the room before Casey's camera was smashed too. He briefed the tactical team outside the warehouse and then reviewed the recordings of the remote cameras that had been previously placed outside along with the section leaders. They showed no movement having taken place at all and so, naturally, it was assumed that Sarah and Casey were still inside the warehouse.

The first to go in were the specialists of the NBC warfare section, wearing gas masks and full protective clothing. They blocked the door of the specified room open, and checked the air quality with a portable spectrometer/gas chromatograph and some other equipment they had. Chuck and Morgan, both in full tactical gear, were waiting with the rest of the team outside.

"It's clear, Agent Carmichael," reported the section leader.

"Did you find anything?" Chuck asked.

"We found trace amounts of the chemical agent that was used to incapacitate your partners."

"Specifics?"

"It's a non-lethal gas, even in relatively high concentrations. There are no known side effects, and anyone exposed to it without a gas mask is guaranteed to be out for a period ranging from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the concentration and the amount inhaled."

"Can you give me an estimate on the concentration?"

"According to our readings the concentration was moderate. It should keep an average person under for about six to eight hours."

"Is it safe to come in without protective gear?"

"It is, sir. The gas has dissipated. Only residual amounts remain."

"Copy that. Did you find any indication as to the whereabouts of Agents Walker and Casey?"

"No sir. We only found their broken cameras in the room. No indication as to where they may have been taken."

"Well, they must still be somewhere inside. Remain on standby, I'm coming in with the rest of the team."

"Roger that."

Chuck turned to the tactical team leader. "Did you get all that?"

"Yes sir," replied the man. Chuck had flashed on him when they'd met and knew that he was a highly decorated Ranger veteran.

"I want you to maintain a secure perimeter when we go in."

"Already done, Agent Carmichael."

"Excellent. Shall we?"

"Lead the way."

Over Chuck's objections, Morgan insisted on accompanying him inside. One after the other the sections reported no sign of the missing agents.

"This is impossible!" Chuck exploded. "They have to be somewhere in here!"

"Chuck, focus," whispered Morgan. "You may flash on something and we'll get a clue then."

"What if it's not in the Intersect?" Chuck whispered back.

"Then we'll have to do some old fashioned spy work, buddy."

"At least the others will be safe for as long as it takes us to find Sarah and Casey."

Trying to forget how anxious and worried she was, Ellie turned to one of her favorite stress-relieving activities: cooking. Apparently, Kathleen was thinking the same, for she insisted on helping in the kitchen. They made enough food for everyone. Devon took some to Carina and Alex, who were taking shifts at the equipment in Casey's apartment.

"You know, Miller, I'm kinda jealous of Walker," Alex said after the first bite.

"Why's that?"

"I bet she gets to eat good food like that all the time."

"Uh-huh. She's a good cook herself, too. When she has the time to cook. Grimes is not bad in the kitchen either. He's had some chef training."

"I heard that you and Walker are close friends."

"We are."

"I owe her an apology."

"What for?"

"I misjudged her badly the first time we met. Bartowski was just an asset back then. I performed a 49B on General Beckman's orders. I concluded that she was compromised with him and recommended a reassignment for her."

"She was compromised. But it made her better at her assigned task."

"I saw it first hand," Alex agreed. "Due to her familiarity with Bartowski she saw things I totally missed. Casey was right. She is a pro."

"You can tell her all that when Chuckles brings her back," Carina said. She was optimistic about the outcome of the mission.

Inside Casa Woodcomb, Ellie and Kathleen were talking in hushed tones in the living room, while Devon and Alex were watching TV. They all knew that they would soon have to go to bed, but right now they were too wound up to sleep. Eventually the others had to gang up on Ellie to convince her that she needed to rest. They retired to their rooms not long afterwards.

Back in the warehouse, Chuck was getting frustrated. They had searched it from top to bottom and had found no trace of either Sarah or Casey. He hadn't flashed on anything either. He watched the footage from the perimeter cameras again. Nobody had entered or left the premises and there had been no jamming or looping. The feed had been continuous.

"Morgan, they can't have just vanished into thin air," he said.

"They did not leave by the doors or any windows."

"Any suggestions? Help me here, little buddy."

"A helicopter? The cameras we placed did not cover the roof."

"We would have noticed something associated with the rotor wash of a helicopter. Dust cloud, debris kicked up, something."

"Zip line from the roof to another building?"

"No dice. How would you carry two unconscious people, especially one as heavy as Casey, that way?"

"It might be doable," Morgan insisted. "I've seen it done between ships at sea."

"You mean by breeches buoy?"

"That's how it's called? Basically, yes, that's what I mean."

"It's worth considering," Chuck admitted. "Bravo section, check all access points to the roof. Let me know if there are indications of two people having been carried there and moved to a neighboring building by zip line or something similar," he commanded over his tactical radio.

"No sign of such thing, sir," the section leader reported a few minutes later. Chuck responded with a very Casey-like grunt.

"They didn't leave on or above ground level," mused Morgan. "Where does that leave us?"

"Buddy, you are a genius!" Chuck enthused. He keyed his mike and spoke urgently. "All sections look for exits leading underground. Repeat, look for hidden trapdoors, basement accesses, anything." He waited expectantly, but one after the other the tactical team sections reported finding nothing of the sort.

"We are back to square one," said Chuck dejectedly. "Should we try a GPR?"

"What?"

"Ground-Penetrating Radar. It's a long shot, but it might work."

"It'll be worth a shot." Morgan collared a guy from the EOD section and asked him about a GPR. The man said that they could get a similar device, a wall-penetrating radar, but it would take a few minutes for it to arrive on site. Chuck told him to do whatever was necessary to get it there and walked into the warehouse with Morgan.

"Chuck, where are we going?"

"I need to use the little boys' room."

"Good idea. I need to use the facilities myself. I had too much grape soda tonight."

They quickly did their business, washed their hands and were almost out of the restroom area when, suddenly, the floor opened up under their feet and they found themselves falling and then sliding down a chute, much like their first day in the new Buy More and Castle.

"OH SHIIIIIIIIIT!" Chuck exclaimed.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!" Morgan hollered behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update, but with work and all, I didn't have as much time as I'd like for writing. I will, however, try to update at least once a week.

Enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"What do you mean they disappeared?" General Beckman exploded. She was understandably incensed. Madder than Hell would be a more apt description. Three of her best, correction, her three best agents, plus Morgan Grimes, who, admittedly, was doing well in the intelligence business, were missing in action.

"General, according to the team leader's report, Bartowski and Grimes went to the men's room of the warehouse. As they were heading to rejoin the tactical team, the floor opened up and they both fell down a chute. One of the men saw it," Alex said, summarizing what she'd been told a few minutes ago.

"Damn! I'll have to send in another team."

"That will not be necessary, General," Carina said. "We are here."

"Miller is right. We are more than qualified to head up the operation."

"Have it your way, ladies," Beckman agreed after thinking it over for a few moments. "But I don't want you in the field. Consider it a precaution. You'll have the full support of Colonel Sanders' outfit, plus whatever you need from the Buy More team."

"Yes ma'am," the two agents chorused.

"Keep me informed of your progress," the General said and signed off.

"Now, Miller," Alex said, "what do we tell the others?"

"I don't think we should tell them that Chuck and Morgan are missing. They wouldn't take it too well. And we have Ellie's condition to consider, too."

"Meaning?"

"She's pregnant. We shouldn't upset her."

"I agree."

"Good. What we'll tell them is that Chuckles and Morgan are following up on some leads."

"Okay," Alex agreed.

"Relax, Forrest. If anyone can fall into the shit and come out smelling of roses, it's those four."

"I've seen that first hand."

"OK. Then let's go over the reports and the video files. Maybe we'll find a clue."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll take the first shift on the surveillance equipment when we're done."

"Wake me up when you need to rest. Now, we have a lot of work to do."

Alex and Carina went carefully over the reports and the video files they had available, but didn't find any new evidence as to who was behind the whole affair. The tactical team leader called them at one point with some interesting news. His men had managed to blow the hidden trapdoor open, but the tunnel it led to was blocked by a recently collapsed ceiling. Using the electronic equipment Chuck had originally requested, they had been able to follow the tunnel to its exit, a few blocks away, but didn't find anyone or anything to help find the missing agents. The forensics teams were all over the place, looking for clues as to the identity of this mysterious new villain Team Bartowski had come up against. Alex sent Carina to go get some rest, while she set the security system to maximum coverage. She had he also watched through the surveillance system as the families of her colleagues interacted. It impressed her how supportive they were of each other, especially considering that Kathleen had just met Ellie and Devon. Alex McHugh was acting more familiar with the Woodcombs, and Forrest correctly guessed that they had met before.

A couple of hours previously

Chuck and Morgan slid down the shaft for what seemed like an eternity, before they reached the bottom. They landed on a pile of gym mats and cushions in a tangle of limbs, Morgan ending up on top of Chuck, heads between each other's legs.

"Do you get a sense of déjà vu from all this, buddy?" Chuck asked.

"Are you referring to the computer stealing ninja who kicked both our asses three years ago?"

"Uh-huh. That was Sarah, by the way."

"Get out of here!"

"I'm serious, it was her. She admitted it to me sometime later, when she offered to get the CIA to replace my computer."

"So, some good came out of me not hanging that shelf properly. You got a better computer!"

"Yeah… Would you mind getting up now, so that I can get up as well?"

"Oh, sure, sorry," Morgan said and got up. In turn he helped his friend to his feet. "Now what?"

"Hold on," Chuck said. He tried to contact the tactical team above, without success. Morgan also tried his comms equipment, to no avail.

"There must be a jammer somewhere in here," Morgan concluded.

"You're probably right, little buddy. But that's not what is bothering me right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I briefed the team to look for cameras and other surveillance devices before they went in."

"And they found nothing."

"Exactly. Then how did our mysterious 'friend' know about Sarah and Casey? How did he know where and when to spring the trap for us?"

"Um…"

"I'm guessing he had us under surveillance from a neighboring building."

"Not likely. Sarah and I did a thermal sweep before she and Casey went in and all the buildings in the area were empty."

"Then he must have set up a remote sensing system inside a building and controlled it from a distance."

"It's the most reasonable explanation," agreed Morgan. "What do we do now?"

"I think we should…" Chuck never finished the phrase, as he felt a prick on the exposed skin of his neck, between the collar of his body armor vest and the rim of his helmet. "I'm losing consciousness," he mumbled and dropped like a felled tree at his friend's feet. Morgan had barely time to register what he'd just seen before he also ended up on the floor, a tranq dart sticking out of him as well.

-O-

The new day in Burbank dawned bright and warm. Ellie stirred as the rays of the morning sun played on her face. Beside her, Captain Awesome was still sound asleep. Her movement as she got up woke him.

"Hey babe," he said, "slept well?"

"Yes, I did. I'm gonna go make some breakfast," she said as she pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt.

"Let me help you." He started getting dressed himself.

"Are you again going to try and keep me from doing anything, Devon?"

"El, I just want to help. We need to make breakfast for six people, after all. I know Chuck and Morgan do not exactly keep their refrigerator fully stocked, with anything other than junk food that is, and Sarah is too busy with her job sometimes to take care of this matter. Kathleen and Alex are going to need something to eat, as are the girls at Casey's."

"What kind of junk food do my brother and Morgan keep in their kitchen?" Ellie asked, suddenly interested, and not about Chuck's diet.

"We can check later," Devon smiled. "On second thought, we should cook for seven."

"Why, is anyone coming over now?"

"Not exactly. But yeah, there will be someone awesome coming in a few months." His smile grew even bigger as he said that. She realized he was talking about the baby. She hugged her husband and kissed him.

"Then let's get busy," she said, breaking the kiss.

"I'll get started on the coffee," he said, moving to the coffee maker. They had been working in harmony for several minutes, when Ellie noticed Carina in the courtyard.

"Hey, Carina," she said.

"Ellie, good morning."

"Devon and I are making breakfast for everyone. Care to join us?"

"Thanks, but Alex and I will be busy with tightening the security arrangements here."

"Don't sweat it ladies," Devon interrupted. "I'll bring you your breakfast at John's."

"And judging from the smell of it I'm sure we'll enjoy it."

"Miller, coffee's ready," Forrest called from Casey's apartment.

"I'll be there in a sec," Carina called back.

"Carina, any news on the others?" Ellie asked.

"Chuck and Morgan are following up on some leads," Carina said, sticking to the story she'd agreed with Alex to tell Ellie. "Hopefully, we'll soon know if they pan out."

As Carina returned to the temporary base of operations that was Casey's apartment, Ellie left Devon to watch over the pancakes and went next door to Chuck's. She knocked on the door and Kathleen answered, dressed in jeans and a flower print shirt.

"Ellie, good morning," she said brightly.

"Good morning Kathleen. How was your first night here?"

"It was very nice."

"Look, Devon and I are making breakfast for everyone at our place, so you and Alex are invited to join us."

"Thanks, it's very thoughtful of you, but I wouldn't want to inconvenience you in any way."

"It's no trouble at all," Ellie said. "Besides, as my husband said, my brother's kitchen is not that well stocked."

"Really?"

"Let's check it out," Ellie said conspiratorially and winked. Kathleen laughed and followed her to the kitchen. Awesome had been right. The only breakfast items were a couple of half-empty boxes of cereal. The refrigerator was half-full of grape soda, frozen pizzas, and other stuff that Ellie had long ago classified as Nerd Junk Food.

"It looks like we'll have to accept the invitation," Kathleen said, looking at the contents of the refrigerator and the cupboards.

"Mom, Ellie, what are you guys doing in the kitchen?" Alex asked, having just come out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body and her hair still wet from the shower.

"Get dressed young lady," her mother said. Ellie came over to invite us for breakfast at her place. Good thing she did, too, because your boyfriend and his roommates are not exactly grand chefs."

"Morgan is a grand chef, mom," Alex deadpanned. "Sort of." She then hightailed it to her room to get dressed. Of course, it was Morgan's room she'd been staying in. Her mother had taken Chuck and Sarah's room.

"What was that about Morgan being a chef?" Kathleen asked.

"He studied at the Benihana in Hawaii to become a Hibachi chef."

"He did?"

"He couldn't flip the shrimp, as he told us, but he learned to cook really well."

"I'm beginning to like him even more." Ellie had to suppress a chuckle, as she wondered how Casey would take Kathleen's statement. Suddenly, a box of crackers caught her eye.

"Chuck should learn to hide this stuff better," she said, opening it and devouring one. Kathleen smiled understandingly. She'd gone through a pregnancy herself and knew all about it. "By the way, Sarah is a great cook, too. But her job has her working irregular hours, so she rarely has the time to work her magic in here. The other day she helped Morgan make fajitas and fried rice. Let me tell you, it was delicious."

"Ready, let's go," Alex said cheerfully, coming into the kitchen, wearing a denim skirt and a matching blouse. "Any news as to when Morgan and the others will be back?"

"Carina said that Chuck and Morgan are working on it."

Breakfast was a very pleasant affair. Alex wasn't shy about advertising her relationship with Morgan, and Devon and Ellie were wondering how Casey was taking it, given how protective he was of his daughter. There was a slight argument later, as Carina and Forrest were adamantly opposed to any one of their charges going to work until the all clear had been given. Eventually, the agents' reasoning won out and the others invented various excuses to make their absence from their jobs look legitimate.

-O-

Chuck woke up first. He bolted upright and saw that he was in a two-bed room. Morgan was blissfully snoring away in the other bed. The closet door was open and he saw their tactical gear neatly hung inside. He drew both his guns, the tranq one and the real one, from their holsters and checked them. They were both loaded and not tampered with. The same applied to Morgan's weapons.

"What kind of villain kidnaps agents and leaves them their weapons?" Chuck mused aloud. He then decided to wake his best friend up and assess the situation with him. "Morgan, buddy, wake up," he said, shaking the short man's shoulder. Morgan just groaned and turned in his sleep.

"Hey Ma, I've got my headgear on," he mumbled and started going back to sleep. They had no time for this.

"Morgan! Get up, now!" In addition to raising his voice, he shook his friend quite violently. Morgan woke up with a start and rolled off the bed on to the floor.

"Chuck, what's the matter with you today?"

"Have you forgotten that we just happened to walk into a trap yesterday?"

"Oh crap! Dude, where are we?"

"I don't know. But I do know one very strange thing."

"What is it?"

"Look in the closet."

"Our weapons and gear are in here!"

"Yep, and they are in mint condition. I checked."

"What kind of bad guy kidnaps two CIA agents and doesn't take their guns?"

"I keep asking myself the same question. Come on, saddle up and let's get out of here."

"I bet the door is unlocked too," Morgan said in a somewhat suspicious tone.

"It is unlocked," Chuck confirmed, after trying the knob.

"I have a bad feeling about all this, dude," Morgan said as he finished putting on his body armor and outer tactical load bearing vest.

"What do you mean?"

"What if we are meant to take part in some sort of a twisted game? Remember Predators? Bringing prey from other planets to hunt?"

"Somehow, I don't think aliens are behind this, little buddy."

"So, we may be like Van Damme in Hard Target?"

"What's with the movie connections? Whatever the explanation is, I'm definitely going to find out. Coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming. I wonder, are Sarah and Casey in here, too?"

"Maybe," Chuck said, starting to feel optimistic. If the team could get back together, they were an unstoppable force. "But if this guy, whoever he is, has harmed even one hair on her head, he'd better start praying to his gods."

"Because the gods will have mercy and you won't. Right, Chuck?"

"Right. Hey, do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"A rolling motion. Buddy, I think we're on a boat."

"We're on a boat?" Morgan echoed. Then he forced himself to focus and realized that Chuck was right. "We _are_ on a boat!"

"Let's go."

Together, the two best friends went to the deck outside. The craft they were on was a yacht and it was inside a boathouse.

"Nice place," Morgan remarked, "neat and clean. Whoever owns it, he really cares for his yacht."

"Morgan, buddy, we have no time for sightseeing. We need to find Sarah and Casey."

They carefully searched all the cabins next to theirs on the starboard side of the boat, Morgan covering Chuck as he entered the cabins, weapon drawn.

"Well?"

"Nothing. Let's go check the port side."

"OK."

They struck paydirt in the second cabin from the bow on the port side. It was smaller than the one they'd woken up in and had only one bed, which was occupied by a loudly snoring John Casey.

"Casey's inside, buddy, and he is alone. I'll cover you. Wake him up."

"How about I cover you and you wake him up?" Morgan asked. "I'm not about to enter a cave and wake a bear up from hibernation! I value my life. At least you can hold your own with him."

"Fine, I'll go in," Chuck said. "And put your special glasses on, you may need them," he whispered in Morgan's ear.

"Oh, I forgot about those, thanks."

Chuck went inside and knelt by the bed.

"Casey," he said, shaking the big man. "Sugar Bear, wake up."

"What did I tell you about saying that name ever again, Moron?" Casey asked. His massive paw was already around Chuck's neck.

"At least you woke up. If you don't mind, we still have to find Sarah. So, let me go, please?"

*grunt* (fine) "You got a gun for me?"

"No need for that. Your gear is in the closet."

"Huh?"

"Morgan and I woke up on this boat, yes, we are on a boat. Whoever took you, took us as well."

"You two imbeciles walked into a trap?"

"We had full tactical support!" Chuck protested.

"Whatever. Come on, we need to find Walker."

They found Sarah in the cabin next door. She was still asleep as Chuck ran to her and took her in his arms.

"Casey, she's not waking up!" He tried gently shaking her again.

"Relax, Moron. It's the drug. She inhaled the same amount as I did and she's smaller. So, proportionally, she got a bigger dose than I did."

"What's this?" Morgan said, picking up a post-it note from the nightstand. "Please go to the galley," he read aloud. "Perhaps our mysterious host wants to meet us."

"Good. I'll get to break his legs then," Casey said.

"Chuck?"

"Sarah! You're awake!"

"Uh, yes, I am. Where are we?"

"On a boat. And I think we are about to meet our host."

"Our host? They got you and Morgan too? What were you thinking?"

"Hey! As I already told Casey, I went to the warehouse with a full tactical team!"

"Your gun, Walker," Casey said, giving her the Smith & Wesson. The four went to the galley and Morgan started making coffee. They also found another note, saying that they'd be contacted soon.

"Ah, good morning lady and gentlemen," boomed a voice through hidden speakers. "I trust you had a quiet night."

"Who are you?" Chuck asked.

"For the sake of conversation you can call me Scott."

"OK, Scott, do you work for the Ring?"

"The Ring… No. But I used to work for them. Bunch of idiots they were. They had me slaving away for a pittance on their Intersect project and ignored my ideas for another great invention. So, I feel I have to thank you for bringing about the downfall of the Ring. Thanks to you I'm free to work on my own projects. Let me tell you, the Intersect thing is dangerous. The only Ring subject was only marginally capable of accepting it. Thankfully, you guys caught him and the CIA reversed the process and removed it from his head. Stupid fucker is now rotting in some underground prison, as he deserves. I was pleasantly surprised to see you walk into that warehouse. I had been hoping you'd come."

"Why, to kidnap us?"

"Would you have come willingly?"

"Probably not," Chuck admitted.

"See? Anyway, now that we are together, sort of, I can properly thank you for unknowingly freeing me from the Ring's clutches. You have the privilege of being the first to test my new computer system by playing the Game. Questions?"

"Where are we?" Sarah asked.

"Geographically, you're still in LA. Topographically, you are on an island in the Pacific."

"What?" Chuck, Sarah, Casey and Morgan said in unison.

"I'll explain," Scott said. "Please bear with me for a few minutes."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Time to start solving the mystery…

Again, thank you all for your support.

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Unleash the Casey**

The four friends and colleagues contemplated the last statement 'Scott' had made, wondering how they could be in two places at the same time. They looked at each other and silently agreed to hear their mysterious host out.

"Please explain," Sarah said.

"Thank you, Agent Walker. I'll stress again that it is not in my intentions for any harm to come to any one of you. So, Colonel, I really hope you won't break my legs should we ever meet in person."

*grunt* (That depends on what you'll say next)

"As I said, the Ring had me working on their, flawed I might add, Intersect. They dismissed my own ideas out of hand. You see, at first I had the impression that I was offering my services to the government. When I learned the truth, it was too late to back out."

"What was that project you wanted to work on?" Chuck asked.

"In simple terms, it was a training and/or operation rehearsal aid for military and law enforcement personnel. It's a simulator of sorts, creating as close to an actual combat situation as possible, but perfectly safe for the participants. For example, imagine rookies at a boot camp being trained for combat, or, say, a Special Forces unit needing to rehearse an assault for a hostage rescue, or training police officers for responding to various situations. My invention can do all that and more, like, say, training emergency services personnel for anything from dealing with a car accident to major disaster response."

"So, it's basically a video game," Morgan said.

"Yes and no. I wanted to create a reasonable facsimile of an operations environment. It's not possible to do that with a simple simulator."

"Virtual reality simulators already exist," Casey pointed out.

"This is the next step in VR simulators," Scott said. "The participants are _inside_ the virtual reality environment."

"You created something like the Matrix?" Morgan asked.

"I considered it and it was technically feasible. But I was concerned about the possible adverse effects of the brain and the body not being in sync. The solution was to put the whole person inside the virtual reality environment."

"Oh crap," muttered Chuck. "It's just like…"

"Tron," Sarah finished the thought, her voice almost a whisper, an awed expression on her face.

Casey grunted (They got you too, Walker).

"What?"

"The Nerd has rubbed off on you big time," Casey said. Sarah just smiled and gave her partner a friendly shove.

"It's one of my all-time favorite movies, Casey," Chuck said.

"Does this mean that we are actually in a computer generated environment?" Morgan asked.

"Yes. Don't worry, getting in and out of this environment is perfectly safe. I tested the procedure thoroughly and there are no transcription errors in the molecular deconstruction and reconstruction processes."

"Now you are making it sound like Timeline," Chuck said.

"Believe it or not, it was this very movie that prompted me to look into the matter. I'm proud to say that I succeeded in perfecting the sequence."

"If we ask you to bring us back to the real world right now, would you do it?" Casey asked.

"I would. But I was hoping that curiosity would get the better of you and at least try the Game."

"Say we accept. What do we do then?"

"You'll be assigned a number of missions involving plenty of gunplay, which I'm sure you'll like, Colonel. Your opponents will look, feel and die like actual humans, but they will be controlled by the system's AI. You'll be the only real humans in the Game. You have my word on it. You won't actually kill anything but bytes. And since it was developed as a training aid, if your opponents manage to shoot you, all you'll feel will be a harmless electrical discharge that will hit you like a punch. At the super realistic settings, it is possible to mimic the effects of an injury, by slowing the players down or incapacitating them, so that their comrades-in-arms will have to carry them. And this brings us to the most important question. Are you going to play?"

"I'd like to give it a shot. It'll be different from all the first person shooter games I've ever played," Chuck said.

"I'm with him," said Morgan.

"So am I," said Sarah.

"Gunplay sounds like fun," Casey added.

"Very well, then. I'll set it to expert, but not super realistic. Enjoy the Game, lady and gentlemen. Oh, the maps were inspired by Far Cry. I trust you and your friend have played it, Agent Carmichael, as you obviously have an affinity for computer games."

"We have," Chuck confirmed.

"OK. You'll find the wardrobe, the arsenal and the briefing room outside the boathouse. Have fun! Scott out."

Chuck, Sarah, Morgan and Casey just sat at the table for a while, looking at each other. To Chuck and Morgan, being the avid gamers they were, actually _living_ the game was the mother of all wet dreams coming true. Sarah and Casey were more interested in the practical aspects of the matter. Such a system could revolutionize training, just like Scott had said.

"What do we do now?" Chuck asked, breaking the silence.

"Let's go check out what mission we are getting and gear up," said Casey. The others nodded in agreement. Together, they marched down the gangplank to the boathouse dock and exited through the main door. There was a beautiful bungalow nearby. They followed the path to it and went inside. The briefing file was in a laptop computer and, according to Chuck and Morgan, it was pretty much the standard briefing one would expect to see while playing a realistic first person shooter game. Casey thought that it was pretty concise. The scenario was that someone had assembled an army of mercenaries on some deserted islands in order to seize power in a nearby island state by staging a coup d'état. The team was to gather the necessary intelligence to prevent this from happening.

Their first objective was to cross the island they were on and find a way to steal a helicopter and proceed to the next objective. They also gathered maps, GPS equipment and tactical radios. The wardrobe was in another room.

"Well," Morgan said, "Scott sure likes to give his guests a variety of fashion options." The statement was more than true. There was a great variety of BDUs in various patterns: classic Woodland, MARPAT, ACU, Multicam, CADPAT, Flecktarn, and a few more.

"Wow," said Sarah. "What's a girl going to choose?" The others smiled. Super spy or not, on wardrobe matters she was just another girl: sometimes she needed time to choose what to wear.

"I don't know about you, but I'll take this," Casey said, picking up a set of Tiger Stripe BDUs.

"They sure look good for a tropical environment," Chuck commented.

"Not just that," Casey said with a smile, "they remind me of my days as the Angel De La Muerte."

"Tiger stripes for all it is," Chuck said. When they changed, they also packed rucksacks with a couple of changes of clothes for each and extra supplies before going to the armory.

"Choose your weapons," Casey said. They all had sidearms, meaning Casey's and Morgan's SIGs, Sarah's Smith & Wesson and Chuck's Walther P99, so they just needed a main weapon each. For Casey it was an easy choice. He picked up an HK 416 carbine. As an afterthought he strapped an Accuracy International L96 sniper rifle in its carrying case to his rucksack.

"I'll take this," Morgan said, picking up an M4A1.

"No you won't, numb nuts," Casey said and took it from him. "Take this." He gave him an AK-101 with an underbarrel GP-30 grenade launcher. Casey knew that a stock unmodified M4A1 was not exactly the most reliable weapon, while the Kalashnikov was virtually soldier proof (idiot proof in this case, as he thought). An added advantage was that this model was chambered for NATO standard 5.56 mm ammunition.

"We'll need some heavy weaponry of sorts," Chuck said as he watched Sarah browse through the rifles available.

"You're right, Moron," Casey said. He gave Chuck his HK 416 and picked up an MG4 light machine gun at first, but changed his mind and took an HK 121 instead. It was virtually the same weapon as the MG4, but fired the more powerful 7.62x51 mm NATO round instead of the smaller 5.56 mm one. Sarah finally selected a G36K.

"When we secure us some transportation, we can also stock up on more weapons and ammunition, since we won't have to walk," she said. A few minutes later they had finished packing their gear.

"What do we do now?" Morgan asked, putting a boonie hat on his head.

"Now, little buddy, we Unleash the Casey," Chuck said. "Lead the way, Colonel." They all deferred to Casey's extensive combat experience in a jungle environment.

"Saddle up and let's go," Casey said.

Together they moved out of the bungalow and melted into the jungle, navigating by GPS, map and compass towards their first objective. Sarah was scouting ahead, with Casey behind her followed by Morgan and Chuck was bringing up the rear.

After walking for a few hours, with a couple of breaks to rest, reconnoiter and confirm their position, they were relatively close to the island's northern coast. Suddenly, Sarah froze and gestured to the others to do the same.

"What is it?" Casey whispered after reaching her position.

"Enemy patrol, two o'clock," she replied. "Do we engage, or do we let them pass?"

"We need to take them out. I can't have them behind us, not this close to the objective."

"OK."

Casey quickly started giving orders. He planted a Claymore mine on the trail and had the others take up positions for an ambush. The spot he selected offered good cover for them and an excellent kill zone as well.

"Fire in the hole," he muttered and hit the clacker, setting off the directional mine. On cue, they all opened up on the surviving members of the enemy patrol. It was over in seconds. "Cease fire!" Casey called. Chuck and Morgan covered him and Sarah as they searched the bodies for intel. Finding none, they just took some ammunition to replenish their stocks.

"Did you find anything?" Chuck asked when they rejoined him and Morgan.

"Just some ammo," Sarah said. "Here, take a couple of mags. Morgan, you too."

"Thanks."

"Let's get going. I doubt if the other hostiles heard the fracas, but we need to get deeper into the jungle just in case they did," said Casey. Apparently a ridge down the trail had blocked the sound of the firefight from reaching the main enemy base on the island, so the precaution was rather superfluous, but they didn't want to take any chances.

The detour would cost them some time, but they still had a couple of hours before nightfall. Picking up the pace was easy, since the ground was level and at one point they were going downhill.

"Are we there yet?" Morgan asked.

"Grimes, shut up," Casey growled.

"Hang in there, little buddy," Chuck said.

"I'm not tired, just curious."

"Quiet!" Casey hissed.

Later, they stopped to check the GPS and the map again. As Chuck and Morgan set up a rudimentary perimeter, Sarah conferred with Casey.

"Stealing the chopper from their main base is too risky," she commented.

"I agree. We'll have to get through a hundred mercs just to reach the helipad."

"The terrain on this island is too rugged to have full-size helicopter support facilities. We don't even know if there will be a chopper on the pad to steal."

"You're right, Walker." He took out the satellite photos and quickly spotted the airbase. It was on a nearby island. It was not big, but it was flat and could easily accommodate a small helicopter squadron. "This is a better choice."

"Yes. We won't have to face too many hostiles, as it appears to be lightly guarded."

"We need to brief the others on the change of plans," Casey said and Sarah nodded. She quickly moved to where Chuck and Morgan had established a guard post from which they could keep an eye on all approaches to their position and informed them of the amended plan.

-O-

Meanwhile, Ellie and Kathleen were trying to relieve the boredom by doing a variety of household chores. They had already cleaned Chuck's apartment and they were now in Casa Woodcomb cooking dinner. Devon and Alex were playing cards.

"Are you worried, Ellie?"

"No. I know my little brother is a good spy and he works with the best. He's told me some of his escapades and I know he can complete this mission successfully. But I'm bored."

"Get used to it."

"Huh?"  
"You'll be on maternity leave soon. I'm speaking from experience. I was bored out of my mind before Alex was born."

"You raised her well."

"Thank you. I only wish her father were here to see her grow up," Kathleen said, visibly moved by the memory of Alexander Coburn. Ellie turned around and smirked. Kathleen was in for a big surprise when the others would come back. There was a knock on the door and Devon answered it. It was Forrest.

"Hello everybody," she said. "Is everything OK?"

"Yes, except for the boredom," replied Devon. "Any news from Chuck?"

"He hasn't contacted us yet, so I suppose that he's really busy. Don't worry about him, he's not alone out there," Forrest said, trying to be reassuring.

"Want some dinner, Alex?" Ellie asked.

"I'll take it to go, please. And thank you. Miller and I can't cook worth sour grapes."

"Neither could Sarah, at first."

Forrest made some more small talk with Ellie and Kathleen before taking the food and heading back to Casey's apartment. She couldn't help but envy Chuck and Sarah a little. He had progressed from a bumbling analyst to a fully qualified agent and he had a good life with a good woman. Alex had known how much those two were in love ever since she had done the 49B. In one of their private conversations Carina had said that knowing you have something to lose makes you an even better agent. Right now she couldn't agree more with that statement.

-O-

By dusk they had reached the coast, still at a safe distance from the main enemy base. They decided to set up camp in the tree line near the beach and rest, sleeping in shifts. The following day they would see about stealing a boat and making their way to the mercenaries' airbase to acquire a helicopter. They were having a quiet meal of MREs when Morgan took Chuck aside for a talk.

"Dude, the others must be worried sick back in Burbank," he said. "Why didn't you ask Scott if there was a way to contact them and let them know we're OK? Or is it that you don't trust him?"

"I don't completely trust him, but I mostly have an ulterior motive for this."

"I don't follow."

"It's simple; for as long as we're away, Kathleen has to stay under the protection of Carina and Forrest. And when we get back, she and Casey will inevitably face each other."

"Devious. That way Casey can, correction, will be forced to reestablish contact with her. I know he still loves her. I've heard him ask Alex about her several times. That's why you didn't tell him about them?"

"Yep. And, since Kathleen has grown quite fond of you, maybe she can get Casey to accept you as their daughter's beau."

"I like the way you think, dude!"

"Thanks." Chuck just sat there, looking out towards the sea, taking in the view. There was a full moon and the white sand on the beach made him think about taking a vacation with Sarah on a beautiful island. He smiled at the thought. He was brought back to their virtual reality when he saw something on a smaller island nearby. He crawled over to Sarah and Casey.

"Guys," he said, "we've got company."

"Where?" Sarah asked.

"Over there," he replied.

"They have a boat," Casey said, looking through a night vision scope.

"We could use it," Sarah said. The small inflatable with the outboard motor could indeed come in handy.

"They left it unguarded, just tied to a rock on the beach."

"Let's steal it," Morgan suggested.

"I'll do it," Sarah said. "You guys cover me."

"Please be careful," Chuck told her.

"I always am," she replied reassuringly as she stripped down to her blue sports bra and panties. Before going into the water she clipped a belt with a sheathed knife around her slim waist. Casey had the sniper rifle out and screwed a suppressor on the business end. He then gave the machine gun to Chuck with instructions not to fire until ordered to. When they gave her the go-ahead, she waded into the sea and quietly swam to the other island. For a moment Chuck found himself thinking if there were any computer generated sharks in the water, but quickly dismissed the thought.

Sarah soon reached the spot where the boat was. Keeping only her head out of the water, she carefully scanned the surrounding area for any sign of trouble. For some reason the three mercenaries had disappeared into the lush interior of the small island, leaving their means of transportation unguarded. Such complacency was going to cost them.

Without getting out of the water and risking leaving tracks on the fine sand, Sarah crouched behind the rock the inflatable was tied to. The knot on the rope was easy to untie. She smiled as she thought that the mercs would just think that the current took the boat after it somehow worked itself loose from its mooring. After a final look around, she started swimming back to the others, the inflatable in tow. If she was discovered, she would have to rely on the covering fire her friends would provide to get away, but she'd have to let the boat go.

Fortunately, she made it to the beach without incident. She walked ashore, bathed in the moonlight. Chuck thought that she looked absolutely breathtaking, the scene reminding him of Ursula Andress coming out of the sea in Dr. No. The moment was short lived, however, as not only did they have to carry the boat inland, hide it and cover their tracks, but the cool night air caused Sarah to start shivering after being immersed in the warm water of the sea. She ran to where she'd deposited her gear and wrapped herself in a towel. Chuck was beside her as soon as he, Morgan and Casey were finished hiding the stolen boat. He immediately started rubbing her back and pulled her close to share his body heat. She looked up at him, smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. As soon as she toweled herself off, she put on some dry underwear and a black tank top, followed by her BDU. Morgan had quickly made her a hot beverage, using the flameless fuel tablets from the MRE packs, which she accepted gratefully.

When everything was again in order, Casey examined the maps and decided that they should head to the island that had the airbase under cover of darkness. They would hide there for the rest of the night and 'borrow' a helicopter in the morning. It was a good plan, so without further ado they carried the boat further down the coast to a rocky section of the beach, staying in cover. There, unseen by anyone who might happen to be in the area, they put the boat back in the water, stowed their gear in it and rowed out to sea. When they were a safe distance out, Casey started the outboard motor and set a course to their first objective. The small but powerful engine was specially muffled, so the precaution of not turning it on until they had put some distance between themselves and the islands was overkill.

Half an hour later, they were close to their destination. Casey steered the boat towards the shore farthest from the helicopter base, so as to minimize the risk of detection. When they went ashore, they quickly established a defensive perimeter and when they made sure that nobody was coming their way hid the inflatable in the brush, erased their tracks on the sand and settled down for the night, Chuck taking the first watch.

* * *

**P.S.:** I bet you didn't expect that kind of sci-fi spin to the story, did you? I figured that since Tron is so prominently featured in many episodes of the show, it would be fun to write a story inspired by it.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** It was nice to see that you like the Tron plot twist. This chapter is full of gaming action for our favorite spies as they continue playing the Game.

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Ride of the Valkyrie**

While Chuck Bartowski was on the last shift standing guard in his little virtual corner of the computer generated Pacific Ocean, Carina Miller and Alexandra Forrest were poring over the reports from the forensics teams that had taken the warehouse apart.

"You got anything?" Alex asked, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Nothing new; the fingerprints and stuff were matched to a number of Ring agents who are currently dead, in prison, on the run, or in witness protection after turning state evidence. I found no one with the resources to prepare and spring such an elaborate trap. What about you?"

"The voice print identification came up negative. Our mystery villain is not anyone we know. His voice is not on file."

"Damn! I can't believe we have exhausted almost all avenues of investigation."

"It must be someone we don't have on file yet."

"The question is who."

"It must be someone who had knowledge of the facility, as well as access, but was not a regular visitor there."

"Can we get the transcripts of the interrogations of those known to have been in the warehouse? Maybe we can find at least a reference to our mystery man."

"I'll call the General. We should get the transcripts in a few hours."

"Get on with it. I'll have to go put on a show for Ellie and the others."

"Maybe you can score us some breakfast as well."

"Spoiled by Ellie's home cooked meals, huh Forrest?"

"There is nothing wrong with an agent taking advantage of the mission parameters to have some pleasure, in this case culinary."

"Ha-ha, c'mon, admit it, you like Ellie, Awesome, Kathleen and little Alex. I won't tell," Carina said.

"They are the people we are sworn to protect. Another reminder of why we're in this fucked-up business. Yeah, I like them," Forrest replied.

-O-

Chuck glanced around and then looked at his watch. The sun was just rising on the eastern horizon. It was time to wake the others up and do some detailed recon before going in with guns blazing, neutralize the small garrison and steal a helicopter. As he carefully moved from his guard post to the makeshift bivouac where his friends were asleep, he decided to try something he might need later. For the first time he wondered if the Intersect 2.0 had come with him into this digitally created world. Pausing, he focused and called up a minor flash on the operation of a locator device. He chose the subject of the flash at random from a selection of brief files. He knew it wasn't much because he'd had the same flash before. Satisfied with the result, he crouched beside Sarah and was about to shake her awake when he changed his mind. Instead, he leaned in and lovingly brushed his lips against hers. A low moan of pleasure escaped her lips before her still sleep-fogged eyes opened and looked into his. A smile appeared on her angelic face.

"Good morning Chuck," she said.

"Good morning. Nothing to report, everything is clear. Wake Morgan and Casey up. I love you," he said.

"I love you too." She pushed herself up to a sitting position and wriggled out of her sleeping bag. Chuck was already keeping watch again. She knelt between the other two sleeping men and roused them from their slumber. "Come on you guys," she said. "We have a game to win."

"Walker, sitrep," growled Casey the moment he opened his eyes.

"All clear," she replied.

"What's for breakfast?" Morgan asked. Casey shoved an MRE pack into his hand and shushed him. "It's only a game," he began to protest, but Sarah answered, echoing the others' sentiments as well.

"I don't like to lose," she said, "even when it's just a game."

"You still want to become an agent, right numb nuts?" Casey added.

"Yes."

"This is good training, as close to a real situation as it'll ever get. Keep it in mind."

A few minutes later they had finished their frugal breakfast, gathered their gear and stealthily moved to the vantage point offered by a low hill on the north side of the island. From there they could observe the entire helicopter base.

"How many hostiles can you see?" Sarah asked Casey.

"Five on guard duty, looking really bored."

"We'll give them some excitement," Sarah chuckled.

"Three mechanics with side arms are working on a chopper. I can't see anyone else. They must be inside that building over there."

"What do we do?" Chuck asked. "Will you stay behind and provide cover with your sniper rifle, or are we all going in?"

"We should all go in, after I take out the two guards to the southeast. They can see us from there if they happen to glance our way when we make our move. Walker, Moron, take out those two patrolling close to our position and do it silently. We'll cover you from here."

"Got it."

Casey quickly outlined the plan. They would move in mutually supporting pairs, use massive firepower to overwhelm those attempting to exit the building and try to keep at least one helicopter intact for their own use. To make it easier, they would approach on an axis parallel to the parking area and engage at close quarters. Surprise and volume of fire would compensate for lack of numbers.

Chuck reminded Morgan of the Intersect glasses once again and then he and Sarah sneaked up on the two unsuspecting mercs. She took one out with her knife, while he went kung-fu on the other. Casey sniped the other two, leaving just one fully armed guard and the three mechanics out in the open. Using a drainage ditch as cover, Chuck and Sarah moved towards the accommodation building and took up position to cover the door and windows. Meanwhile Casey had managed to dispose of the last guard with a well aimed shot from his suppressed rifle. He and Morgan then made their way towards the helicopter being serviced by the mechanics. All the time they marveled at the detail and realism the Game's graphics offered. Using their SIG pistols, with suppressors attached, they killed the mechanics, who never knew what hit them.

The team reunited and took up positions facing the building. On Casey's command, Chuck and Morgan lobbed two 40 mm grenades from the launchers attached under their rifles through the front windows. The mercenaries who survived the blasts rushed outside, only to be cut down by a hail of automatic gunfire. When the smoke cleared, the only ones left standing were the four human gamers.

"Walker, Chuck, check the building."

"Roger that," Chuck replied. He and Sarah verified that there was no hostile still alive inside. "Clear," Chuck called.

"Find their arsenal. We need to top up our ammo and stock up on more weapons now that we have transportation."

"We found it!" Sarah yelled. Casey and Morgan went inside and replenished their ammunition. Casey also told them to take some more guns. He picked out an MP5SD3 with integral suppressor, a P-90 fitted with the commercial long barrel, an MSG90A1 Designated Marksman Rifle, an HK417 rifle, a Mk.14 Mod.0 Enhanced Battle rifle and a M249 SAW. These were packed in two big duffel bags along with a sufficient stock of ammunition and piled on a cart outside. Sarah added a couple of AT4 and another couple of RPG-22 disposable light anti-tank rocket launchers that she found. When she saw two RPO-A Shmel Fuel-Air Explosive rocket launchers, she didn't hesitate to take them as well.

Then it was time to choose a helicopter. The one that had been undergoing maintenance was ruled out for obvious reasons, which left two to consider. One was a heavily armed AH-60L Arpía III, the Colombian gunship version of the Blackhawk. But when Casey saw the other one, he went straight to it. It was a US Army customized AH-60L Blackhawk Direct Action Penetrator, armed with a fixed M230 30 mm chain gun, a Hydra-70 pod holding nineteen 70 mm rockets, four Hellfire anti-tank missiles and two heat-seeking Stinger missiles. In place of the more commonly seen Miniguns on the window mounts this chopper had a pair of bigger, slower firing, but longer ranged and more destructive GAU-19/A fifty caliber three-barreled Gatling guns. This armament gave more versatility than the four (two fixed, two flexible) GAU-19/As and the two Hydra pods on the other bird.

"We'll take this one," he said with conviction. Just to be on the safe side, he checked the maintenance record. He had to give Scott kudos for his attention to detail.

"I can see why you went for this one," Chuck said smiling.

"This baby has enough firepower to level a small town," agreed Morgan.

"So, you and I will fly, while Chuck and Morgan man the side guns?" Sarah asked.

"No, Walker, you and the Moron will fly. I call dibs on this one," he said and affectionately patted the starboard window gun.

"Have it your way," she said and smiled, remembering how fond Casey was of his own Dillon Aero M134 Minigun, which he'd used for the first time when he'd rescued her and Chuck from the Ring in Mexico. Now he had the chance to play with something bigger and harder-hitting. She circled the craft on a preflight inspection muttering something about 'big toys for big boys', still smiling as she pulled out safety pins attached to bright Remove Before Flight streamers.

"Moron, I hope this noggin of yours can help you work the radar and optronics," Casey said.

"It can," Chuck confirmed after flashing on the appropriate skills. He and Casey loaded their gear in the helicopter and secured it. Morgan was in the meantime looking for intel inside the building. He came out with an armful of papers, a laptop computer and an MP3 player.

"What's that for, numb nuts?"

"Relax Casey; I just made a chopper playlist. It's not big, but it's fitting to the occasion." He secured it to a rack inside the chopper's troop/cargo compartment. Casey took a few minutes to booby trap the other two helos.

"Walker, give me a status report on the bird."

"She's good to go."

"Let's not waste any more time. Take 'er up."

"Welcome to Pacific Paradise Airlines, gentlemen, I am Sarah Walker and I will be your pilot this morning," Sarah said over the intercom after strapping herself in the pilot's seat, with Chuck to her left and starting the engines. Casey and Morgan were behind the cockpit. "According to federal regulations this is a non-smoking Blackhawk, sole exemption being granted to Colonel Casey and his cigars. If you register to our frequent flyer program, you get as many free miles as you like. Be warned, this might be a bumpy ride with opportunities for use of onboard weapons. As usual, the puke bags are located on the seat backs in front of you."

As the two T700 turboshafts reached operating RPMs, Morgan hit the play button on the stereo and turned the volume way up. The theme from Airwolf started playing. The Blackhawk took off and Sarah pointed it towards the biggest island in the area, where the main objectives of their mission were located. The 80 mile flight over the water began in a very pleasant way. The banter inside the helicopter was light hearted and there was a lot of praise for Scott's Game. Even Casey admitted that he was thoroughly enjoying it. Suddenly, Casey, who was manning the starboard gun, spotted another aircraft on a converging course.

"Walker, V-22 on our two o'clock," he said.

"I see him," she replied.

"What should we do?" Morgan asked.

"We let him pass and nail him from behind with a Stinger," Chuck suggested.

"It's a good idea," Sarah agreed. Their unsuspecting victim passed a mile ahead of them and less than five hundred feet above their altitude. When the Osprey was at their eleven o'clock, Sarah pointed the nose of the Blackhawk towards the target and uncaged the seeker of the number 1 missile. When she got the lock-on tone, she fired the Stinger and they all watched with satisfaction as it flew true and connected with the hot exhaust of the tilt-rotor's port engine. The results were spectacular. The loss of one engine caused the V-22 to roll violently to the left and it spiraled downwards until it crashed into the ocean.

"Good job, Walker," said Casey.

"Those guys didn't have time to pee in their pants," Chuck added. He had been monitoring the radio and knew that the Osprey's crew didn't send out a distress call.

"Score one for Sarah," Morgan added.

"Don't get too cocky," Casey admonished. "We still have to destroy the main supply dump."

"New heading 345 degrees magnetic," Chuck said, checking the onboard GPS system and rolling map display.

"New heading 345 degrees," Sarah confirmed and corrected the course. "Chuck, take the controls for a moment."

"Are you suicidal, Walker? The last time he flew a helicopter he almost crashed it in a harbor crane."

"I know how to fly a helicopter now," Chuck said. Indeed, it was in the Intersect. "I have the controls." Sarah took her hands off her controls and stretched. She then found a juice box in a pack and happily took a sip from the straw.

"We must be about five miles from the target," Chuck said a short while later.

"I got the controls," Sarah said and Chuck relinquished control of the helicopter to her. "Arm the Hellfires."

"I'm on it," he replied. His fingers flew over the master armament panel, clicking the safeties off and powering up the weapons control system. "Recommend we engage at six kilometers with the Hellfires. I'll target the buildings with them."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Going to attack mode. Your trigger is hot." Sarah could now fire the M230 and the Hydra-70 rockets.

"Wait a minute! We can't attack without the appropriate background music!" Morgan exclaimed. Briefly leaving his station at the port gun, he went to the MP3 player and hit a couple of buttons. His choice was – appropriately – Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries'. It even elicited a smile from Casey who loved the chopper attack scene in Apocalypse Now. Everyone was concentrating hard on the task at hand. Chuck was intently peering at the display from the FLIR on a screen, momentarily switching to the day channel to see if he could get a better picture of the target, but thermal worked better.

He locked the laser designator on a building.

"Missile away," he called. An AGM-114M shot forward from its rail and curved towards its target, relentlessly following the invisible beam emitted from the optronics ball on the nose of the Blackhawk. A tremendous explosion confirmed the accuracy of Chuck's aim.

"Wooo-hooo!" Sarah hollered. It was rather out of character for her, but she was proud of her boyfriend for his success and she was also enjoying the game to the full. She knew that to him it was just the next level in first person shooter games. In real life he'd go out of his way to avoid killing – another quality she admired in him. Chuck turned and smiled at her. She gave him a thumbs up. She would have kissed him too, but she didn't want to hear Casey's disapproving grunt and/or chiding if she did.

A second missile followed the first and another building went up in flames.

"Fire them all now, while we're still out of range of their triple-A," Casey advised. He knew from the recon pictures that there were some heavy machine gun and automatic cannon pits protecting the mercenary base. Chuck took the advice to heart and the remaining two Hellfires blasted apart the last two substantial buildings in the target area.

"How do you like that, suckers?" Chuck said triumphantly.

Sarah descended to almost wave-top height and increased power. She planned on using an islet, a large rock outcropping really, that she had spotted, as cover for the approach to gun and rocket range. It was less than a thousand meters from shore. Popping up behind it, she selected her first target and fired a couple of 70 mm rockets. The mercenaries started recovering from the initial surprise and manned the defenses.

"Triple-A, ten o'clock," Chuck warned. She banked to avoid the stream of 20 mm gunfire and pulled the trigger on the cyclic stick. The M230 barked and she walked her short burst into the sandbagged AA gun emplacement.

"Missile!" Casey shouted. "Break right!" She followed his instructions, while Chuck popped decoy flares from the dispensers on the tail boom. The barrels of Casey's gun rotated into a blur and the bone chilling sound of the Gatling firing at a rate of two thousand rounds a minute was added to the general din. The SAM crew vanished in a cloud of dust as their position was saturated by fifty caliber rounds. Morgan was also enthusiastically blazing away with his gun at any targets that appeared in his field of fire.

"This game is the best, EVER," he shouted. Sarah laughed as she unleashed another burst of 30 mm gunfire at a speeding guntruck, chopping it apart.

"Morgan, Casey, lock your weapons in forward-firing mode," she said. Upon receiving confirmation that her order had been carried out, she let loose at a group of mercenaries, cutting them all down. Then she told them to take manual control again.

"RPG!" Chuck yelled. Sarah jinked to avoid the rocket and Morgan laid down suppressive fire.

"We're taking small arms fire," Casey said as the pattering of bullets impacting the helicopter's fuselage was heard.

"Take care of it!"

"On it."

Sarah expended the rest of the unguided rockets on a cluster of shacks, some vehicles and a supply dump – with explosive and very satisfying results.

"Gun dry," Casey announced, informing her that he'd ran out of ammo. He would have to resort to his HK 121 for the rest of the flight.

"All assigned targets destroyed," said Chuck. "Let's get out of here."

"Where is the next checkpoint?"

"Fly down that valley over there."

"I see it."

"Enemy choppers, ten o'clock," said Chuck. Indeed, a Blackhawk and a Cobra were bearing down on them. "Take the Cobra first!"

"I got missile tone," she said excitedly and fired her last Stinger. The attack helicopter popped flares, but it was too late. The missile severed one of its rotor blades and sent it crashing down into the jungle. "Hold on!" Sarah warned the others that she was about to do some abrupt maneuvering. She managed to avoid the gunfire from the other Blackhawk, but lost visual contact. Fortunately, Morgan had not taken his eyes off of it and with his help she reacquired the target. The treetop level dogfight did not last long. Sarah eventually got in an advantageous position and used the cannon to shoot down her opponent.

As the Blackhawk started following the twists and turns of the valley that shielded them from detection, Morgan put Little Richard's 'Long Tall Sally' on the sound system. He then offered the others some 'extra picante' Mexican candy, but they declined.

"Bunch of wussies you all are," he said. "This stuff is going to make you a goddamn sexual Tyrannosaurus. Just like me." The smug smile abruptly left his face, however, as a huge gloved hand closed around his windpipe. Chuck had been about to laugh at the Predator quote, but levity was immediately replaced by concern for his best friend's welfare.

"What do you mean by that, Grimes?" Casey asked threateningly. He still couldn't stomach the idea of his daughter and the bearded troll together.

"Casey, let him go," Chuck said.

"I'm sure he didn't mean Alex," added Sarah, although she didn't exactly know what the two kids had been doing on their dates.

"Anna!" Morgan croaked. "I meant Anna! When we were dating!"

*grunt* (You'd better be telling the truth, imbecile). But he released Morgan anyway.

"What's the next part of our mission?" Chuck asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the subject of Morgan and Alex.

"There is a clearing about ten miles from here. We are to land there, abandon the chopper and take a vehicle to our next objective," Casey answered.

Chuck competently directed Sarah to the clearing and then spent a few minutes checking the area out with the thermal imager, as they didn't want to run into an ambush. When he gave the all clear, Sarah landed the helicopter. They took all their equipment out and while she went to look for their next ride the men camouflaged the Blackhawk as best as they could, using scrub, tree branches and a camo net. Sarah rejoined them and said that she'd found the vehicle. They followed her to it and saw that it was a fully armored Renault Sherpa 3A, complete with a remotely controlled weapon station. Chuck made a mental note to congratulate Scott on the realism of the Game and the wide selection of assorted pieces of hardware. The gear was loaded in the vehicle in no time and sped off towards their next destination with Chuck driving and Casey controlling the weapons from the passenger side console. Sarah and Morgan made themselves comfortable in the back, but did not relax their vigilance for a second.

* * *

**P.S.:** Yes, all the hardware is real. The availability of aircraft and vehicles for transportation justifies the variety of weapons they took. While playing computer games I found having too many weapons satisfying but unrealistic.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** The gang continues playing Scott's Game.

Once again, thanks for the most encouraging reviews and I apologize if I confused you with all the technical details in the previous chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Kill Screen**

"What is that?" Casey asked.

"What?" Chuck asked. His gaze followed Casey's pointing finger to the forest on one side of the dirt road. He immediately hit the brakes. "Sarah, Morgan, look," he said. A section of the treeline bordering the road was flickering.

"Whoa," Morgan said.

"Chuck, what is going on?" Sarah asked.

"Just a minor glitch, I guess. It happens sometimes to game graphics. I'll just steer clear of it."

"Yeah, we'd better do that," Casey agreed.

"What does your screen show?"

"Everything appears normal. No flickering. It looks good both on thermal and on the day channel."

"OK. It's nothing to worry about then." Chuck carefully skirted the area of the disturbance. Once they had passed it he pressed down harder on the gas pedal.

-O-

"I think we may have something here," Alex Forrest said, looking up from the file she'd been reading.

"Care to share it with me?" Carina asked.

"There are repeated mentions to someone unnamed, who really made an impression on the Ring agents who met him. Apparently he was a somewhat regular visitor to the warehouse. He must have been someone important, as he always had an armed escort." Alex gave Carina the file to study.

"He is a scientist," she said after a few minutes of reading. "And they called him by various, mostly derogatory, names, too; 'egghead', 'Nutty Professor', 'Dr. Weirdo', 'Mad Scientist', "Dr. Wirestein', 'Professor Gadget'. He always talked only to the head of the cell, but still piqued the others' curiosity. If possible, I'd like to interrogate the cell leader and see what he has to tell us."

"I'll contact the General."

A few minutes later the two lady agents wrapped up the teleconference with General Beckman. She had adamantly refused to allow either of them to leave the assignment and interrogate a former senior Ring agent, but instead suggested that they do it over a video link. With no other option, they agreed. It would be better than nothing.

The General had also sent them the file of the aforementioned agent. According to it she'd been captured by Team Bartowski after she tried to turn a man she'd mistakenly believed to be the infamous Charles Carmichael only to be thwarted by the real Carmichael (Chuck). She'd been shot and was in a coma for a month, but when she recovered she cut a deal with the CIA and was given witness protection in return for the information she provided on the Ring and its operations in the West Coast area. Her name was Sydney Prince. Alex and Carina were scheduled to contact her in a couple of hours, which was as soon as it could be set up.

-O-

Chuck was driving at a breakneck speed, enjoying the performance of the powerful vehicle.

"Slow down, Moron," Casey growled. "We don't want to attract undue attention."

"Casey's right," Sarah said. "We are coming up on a crossroads, be careful."

Chuck grudgingly slowed down, but still went through the intersection fast. Then he started going faster.

"Didn't I just tell you to slow down?"

"Sorry, Casey, but we picked up a tail and they don't look friendly to me." He mashed the accelerator to the floor, occasionally sneaking a glance at the rear view mirror. Casey looked in the mirror on his side and saw a Humvee and a dune buggy, both heavily armed, in hot pursuit. He then slewed the RCWS around to deal with the new threat. Quite surprisingly, it was Morgan who'd reacted first. Before Casey even had his hands on the joystick, he'd grabbed the M249 from their stock of weapons, opened a firing port that was located in the rear door, stuck the barrel out and started firing. He knew that trying to aim from a moving vehicle was pointless, so the best he could hope for was to lay down suppressive fire, forcing the mercs to keep from getting too close until Casey could use the stabilized weapon under his control to rid them of their pursuers.

Surprisingly, as he locked the sight on the leading enemy vehicle, which happened to be the dune buggy, Casey saw it swerve abruptly, go out of control and roll several times until it wrapped itself around a thick tree trunk.

"You did that, numb nuts?"

"I think so," Morgan replied. He must have hit the unprotected driver of the dune buggy.

"Good job, little buddy," Chuck enthused.

"You did great!" Sarah added.

"My turn," said Casey with an evil smirk and pulled the trigger on his joystick. The fifty caliber machine gun stuttered and the heavy rounds turned the interior of the Humvee into a charnel house after penetrating the armor glass windscreen as if it was made of rice paper. The enemy vehicle lurched to a halt, steam pouring out of its punctured radiator and smoke coming out of the engine.

"All clear behind us now," Sarah confirmed.

"Drive on, Moron."

"Where are we going?"

"According to our briefing file we need to destroy a WMD storage facility. It's north-west of here."

"The road leads there," Sarah said, after studying a map.

"We'll need to stop and plan for this phase of the operation."

"We will, don't worry, Chuck."

Chuck kept driving on the road until the car navigation system told them that they were just a couple of miles from their new target. He stopped and had Casey do a scan of the surrounding area using the thermal sight of the weapon station. No signs of human presence were detected, so Chuck drove the armored vehicle off the road and into the cover afforded by trees and heavy brush.

"Why did we stop, buddy?" Morgan asked.

"Nature's calling," said Chuck, opening his door and going to relieve himself. The others also took the opportunity to do their business in the woods. Once they were done, they got together for a planning session. Casey laid the maps and satellite photos on a folding table he'd set up inside the Renault.

"It doesn't appear to be heavily guarded," said Sarah.

"It doesn't need to. If not for the guard shack and the hut near the bridge this place would be almost undetectable.

"It's carved into solid rock."

"Nah, they probably expanded a preexisting natural cave," Casey said.

"It looks almost impossible to destroy by air."

"Not even bunker buster bombs are effective. In fact, nothing short of a nuke can do anything to this place, and perhaps not even that, unless it's a deep underground detonation."

"We need to gain access inside the bunker. There is no other way."

"Agreed. But the area around has been denuded for about five hundred meters. There is no cover at all. It'll be suicide to try a direct approach."

"Chuck is right," Sarah said.

"That he is, Walker. That's why we are going to take out the guards from a distance. Fortunately we have rifles powerful and accurate enough to do the job at that range."

"Good. It's settled then. Now, can we have some lunch?" Morgan asked.

"I'm famished," Sarah admitted.

*grunt* (Might be a good idea to fill up now that we have the time)

They had a quick lunch of not so tasty MREs and then they proceeded to drive as close to their objective as they could without being detected. Leaving the vehicle under the cover of some trees, they carefully went to a spot overlooking the bridge and the bunker entrance.

"I see seven guards," Casey said.

"Anyone in the hut?" Sarah asked.

"There's nobody in there," Chuck replied after taking a good look with a portable thermal camera.

"Let's take them out," said Morgan. "I'll get the weapons." He went to the Renault and got Casey's sniper rifle, the MSG90A1 which he gave to Sarah, the Mk.14 for Chuck and the HK 417 for himself.

"You're learning, numb nuts," Casey said.

"Thanks. I do the same while playing Call of Duty. I always switch to bigger guns at these ranges." He then put his Intersect glasses on and pressed the activation button. Within seconds he knew sniper techniques, among other things.

Casey used the suppressed rifle to take out the mercenary nearest the radio. Almost simultaneously, Sarah, Chuck and Morgan dropped three more with headshots. One of the remaining three started running for the radio, but he dropped dead with two bullets in him, courtesy of Sarah and Casey. Chuck and Morgan killed the other two as they were trying to take cover. The way to the bunker was clear. The four agents went back to their car and Chuck drove them to the foot of the hill by the bunker entrance.

-O-

"I don't know who it was," Sydney told Alex and Carina over the video link. "The higher-ups always had at least three agents watching over him. He was none too happy about it. I guess he didn't like working for the Ring."

"Did you happen to learn anything about what he was working on?" Carina asked.

"No. We were strictly prohibited from discussing anything business related with him. He must have been working on something very highly classified. All he used to do at the warehouse was take delivery of some boxes, electronics mostly."

"Do you know anyone who might be able to shed some light on all this?"

"Sorry, no. We operated in cells, but then you already know that. A number of cells reported to a hub, which acted as an intermediary between us and headquarters. I was very low in the food chain," Sydney said, running a hand through her hair. Ever since accepting the CIA's offer of witness protection she'd done everything asked of her, told them everything they wanted to know and now all she wanted was to leave the spy business behind and live a normal life. She thought of the nice guy she'd started dating a couple of months ago. Fortunately he was at work and would not notice her absence. "You'll have to ask someone placed higher than I was," she added.

"Is there anything else that you remember?"

"I don't think so. No, wait! I once overheard him and one of his bodyguards talking. The bodyguard called him 'Scotty', but I don't think it was his real name. I'm certain it was an alias."

"One more thing," Alex said. "What can you tell us of any dealings the Ring might have had with Volkoff Industries?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. Volkoff mostly supplied weapons, but there were a couple of joint operations I heard about. My cell was never involved in them, in any way. I can't give you any details. I know these operations took place, but not what they were about. My guess is that they were operations to acquire weapons technology."

'Thank you, Ms. Prince, you've been helpful," Carina said.

"You are welcome, Agents."

"Have a nice afternoon," Alex said and signed off. "Well, that wasn't a complete bust," she told Carina.

"We still need to find someone who knows what this Scotty was up to."

"I'll let the General know." Someone knocked on the door. Carina approached it carefully, gun drawn.

"Alex, Carina, are you in there?" It was Ellie. Carina relaxed and holstered her pistol. She opened the door and smiled.

"Hi Ellie. We're both here."

"Any news from my brother, Morgan and the others?"

"They sent us some stuff to look into," Carina lied.

"So they still haven't found Sarah and John."

"It's only a matter of time," Alex interjected. "Chuck sounded pretty confident on the phone."

"He'll never give up. Chuck will find them, trust me on that," Ellie said and turned to go back to her apartment. "Dinner will be at eight," she told the two agents over her shoulder. She smiled as she knew that they were both drooling in anticipation of another home cooked meal.

-O-

"We need to try and bypass this electronic lock," Chuck said.

"Can't you do it?" Sarah whispered, meaning the Intersect. Nobody mentioned Chuck's special skills aloud so as not to compromise the secret.

"I can try," he replied and focused on the keypad by the door. No flash. "I guess it'll just take us a little longer," he said and went to take the necessary equipment from the Sherpa. Casey and Morgan covered them as they hooked up a special device to the keypad. It took them a few minutes, but in the end they managed to get the heavy reinforced door open.

"Piece of cake," Sarah smiled.

"Shall we?" Chuck asked.

"After you," she replied.

"Cut it out you two, will you?" Casey grumbled.

"Look out for other security systems," Morgan advised.

"Good call, little buddy." The place was apparently equipped with its own generator and a sensor that activated the interior lights automatically when someone entered the correct pass code. The four walked carefully along the corridors and took a long elevator ride down, before coming up to the main storage chamber. A lot of crates were neatly arranged inside.

"This doesn't look like a weapons storage room," Chuck commented.

"He's right," Casey agreed. "There is no environment control except for the ventilation system and the air conditioner. Whatever they have in here must be pretty insensitive to storage conditions."

"There are no booby traps or other security measures in the crates," Sarah said.

"Then let's open one and see what's inside," Morgan suggested, hefting a crowbar that he found on the floor. The others let him open one. "Wow," he said, after taking a peek at the contents.

"What is it?"

"Chuck, you are not going to believe this! WMDs my ass! These crates are full of gold bars! There is enough gold in here to start a small country."

"What? Let me see." Chuck, Sarah and Casey crowded around the crate Morgan had just opened.

"So the intel was wrong," Casey commented.

"What do we do?"

"We report it, Walker. But first, we block the entrance so that the bad guys cannot get to the gold."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"What are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

-O-

"Excellent job, Colonel. Your team has a perfect score so far," Scott said through the interface link to the team's ruggedized laptop. Casey grunted in acknowledgment.

"So, are we done here?" Chuck asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Agent Carmichael," said Scott. "I forgot that people must be very worried about you and your friends. I tend to get too focused on work to the exclusion of everything else. I wonder why my wife hasn't divorced me yet. Anyway, I'll shorten the demo level by giving you one of the alternate final missions. Your briefing file is being uploaded as we speak. Good hunting." He signed off.

"Looks pretty straightforward," Casey said as he went over the file Scott had sent them. "We need to take out their air defense coordination and fire distribution center in preparation for a UN intervention. With their SAM system blind the assault force should be able to approach unhindered."

"This reminds me of Street Fighter," Morgan said humorously.

"More like the Return of the Jedi, little buddy."

"I stand corrected. After all, you have your Leia with you – and Chewie."

"Are you implying that I'm the Wookiee, numb nuts?"

"Who'd you rather be, Sugar Bear or Darth Vader?" Sarah teased. Chuck and Morgan laughed.

*grunt* (Shut the fuck up and focus on the job at hand)

They boarded their vehicle again and drove off towards their new objective. Chuck stopped close to it and they took up positions on a nearby hill to observe. It was a complex of concrete bunkers and a large pedestal supporting a huge antenna for a 3D phased array radar. It was no more heavily guarded than the gold vault, and much easier to approach undetected, so Casey decided that some shock and awe was the order of the day.

They would use the armored vehicle for the initial assault to breach the perimeter. Chuck drove it at the best possible speed up the hill and Casey used the heavy machine gun on the sentry posts with great success. The garrison belatedly started forming up to counter the attack, but lacking heavy weapons they could not hope to stop Team Chuck. The remotely controlled fifty caliber gun was firing short bursts as Casey used it to flush out the mercenaries from whatever flimsy cover they could find, while Sarah and Morgan were spraying bullets with their weapons out the side and rear firing ports. Soon, the few surviving hostiles were those that were barricaded inside the bunkers, which were too thickly walled for even the M2 to have any effect on. The situation called for some heavier firepower.

"They must have called for reinforcements, so we have to finish here quickly," Casey yelled over the din of the gun battle and let loose a burst from his HK 121.

"I have something that might help," Sarah said and opened the rear doors of the Sherpa to take out the rocket launchers she had appropriated from the helicopter base arsenal.

"These will do nicely," Morgan said.

"On my mark, covering fire!" Casey said. "Three, two, one, MARK!" The embrasures of the nearest bunker were smothered with automatic weapons fire and Morgan fired the first AT4. The weapon worked as advertised and the bunker's occupants were eliminated. Chuck and Morgan then fired the smaller RPG-22s at a couple of smaller structures, effectively suppressing the enemy fire from them. Casey used the last AT4 to destroy another fortified guard post. All that remained was the main bunker housing the radar electronics and the communications and data link systems to the surface-to-air missile batteries.

Covered by Chuck and Morgan, Sarah and Casey carefully approached the massive structure and fired their two RPO-A rockets. There was no way anyone could have survived that kind of firepower. For good measure they placed a large demolition charge at the base of the radar antenna and set the timer. A spectacular explosion as they were driving off blew the thing to pieces.

Scott contacted them again and directed them to the west coast of the island. There was a villa there, and it was deserted, but he didn't tell them that. The team carefully entered and after a few minutes of searching found nobody inside.

"There's no one here," Chuck said.

"That's weird. There is no intel either," Casey said.

"Let's go that way," Sarah suggested.

They all went to the veranda. What they saw astonished them. Instead of mid afternoon, it was dusk outside, the sun having almost completely set. It was very beautiful; the sky, the beach, even the light ocean breeze. Suddenly, the sky was lit up by a most impressive fireworks display.

"Wow," said Sarah, as Chuck drew her closer to him and they held each other as they admired the sight.

"It's the kill screen," Chuck said, almost in awe, as the word 'CONGRATULATIONS' appeared in the sky.

"It was a good mission," said Casey. "You all did a great job."

"We beat the Game," Morgan gloated. A TV screen came on with their last instructions. They were to fly back to the island where the mission started, change into the clothes they had been wearing before entering the virtual world and then they would be brought back to the real world. An amphibious aircraft was anchored in the surf, which the Intersect identified as being a sleek AeroVolga LA-8. They left everything behind except for the weapons they had at the start of the operation.

Chuck even surprised Sarah by sweeping her off her feet into his arms and carrying her to the boarding ladder. Casey took the controls with Morgan navigating, while Chuck and Sarah cuddled together in the cabin. The flight was very pleasant and Casey made a perfect landing at an airstrip that had magically, or rather digitally, appeared on the island forty minutes later. They headed back to the bungalow and quickly changed. Scott directed them to a room.

"Did you make sure not to leave any of your stuff behind and to take everything you brought here with you?"

"We did," Casey answered. "We double-checked, too."

"Good, you are ready to return, then."

"Beam us up, Scotty," Chuck said.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 – Party Hardy**

Morgan dematerialized first, followed by Sarah. Chuck knew why: the transfer rate was constant and hence the procedure would be faster for those with the lowest body mass. His theory was proven correct when he rematerialized and found Morgan and Sarah already there. Casey also appeared a few seconds later.

"Wow, what a rush," said Chuck. He'd felt like he was floating during the short journey between the digital world and the real world.

"What is this place?" Sarah asked, looking at the chamber they found themselves in. The walls were lined with mirrors and an array of what looked like reflectors, coils and emitters was strategically placed.

"Must be the teleportation room," mused Morgan.

"Please avoid any sudden movements," said a man who entered the chamber through a door behind one of the mirrors. "A slight nausea is a common side effect of the process, at least on lab rats. Here, have some water." The others looked at him as he offered each of them a bottle. He was in his mid forties, wearing glasses and a lab coat. His black hair was graying at the temples and his brown eyes were roving from person to person, anxiously checking to see if they were OK.

"You must be Scott," said Chuck.

"Believe it or not, this is my real name." They shook hands.

"It's a privilege to meet you, sir. Your invention took gaming pleasure to new heights for me," Morgan said, also extending his hand.

"Except for a glitch towards the end, it was perfect," Sarah added.

"You were right; it is a most useful training aid. Had I not known the truth, I'd swear it was all real," said Casey. "And don't worry; I no longer want to break your legs."

"Good to know, Colonel," Scott smiled.

"Where are we?" It was a natural question and the ever practical Sarah was the first to ask it, beating Casey to the punch.

"You are in my lab, in a warehouse near the port of Los Angeles."

"Are you willing to consider a government offer for your invention?"

"Yes, Colonel, I am. After all, I did want to build it for the greater good."

"We will have to contact our superiors."

"I understand that, Agent Walker. You could use my equipment, but I suspect you'd prefer to do it on your own terms. Here, take my card. It has my home address and number on it as well as my business contact details." He scribbled something on the back. "You might want my cell phone number, too."

"Thank you Dr. Kerr," Sarah said. She'd read his name on the card.

"We have to be going now, lots of stuff to do," said Casey. "You two, wait here. I'm sure you'll find some interesting subjects to discuss with the good doctor. Come on, Walker. We need to get us some transportation."

"I'd offer you my car, but I have to pick the kids up from soccer practice later," Dr. Kerr said.

Casey and Sarah were back in less than half an hour. Their credentials made it easy to requisition a car from the Port Authority. The four said their goodbyes to Scott and once again congratulated him on the success of his creation. While they were driving back to Castle, Chuck took his phone out and turned it on.

-O-

Ellie, Devon and Carina had just returned from the hospital after another routine examination for Ellie. This time they'd learned the baby's sex. Carina, who had insisted that she accompany them to their appointment, immediately went to confer with Alex Forrest.

"Well?" Carina asked without preamble in a low voice.

"The General will get back to us with the information we need, but it may take time," Forrest whispered back. Suddenly, Devon's phone rang and he answered it.

-O-

Chuck had tried to call his sister twice, but every time it went straight to voice mail, so he called his brother in law.

"Hello," Devon said.

"Hey Captain!"

"Chuck! How's it going, bro?"

"Chuck called? Put it on speaker!" Chuck heard Ellie say.

"Hey sis!"

"Give me the good news, little brother!"

"Start getting ready for the party you promised to throw us. We are coming home after a debriefing with General Beckman. All of us." He then wisely held the phone a good distance away from his ear. It proved to be a wise precaution, as the excited squeal/scream by his sister had the potential to damage his hearing. All the occupants of the car laughed. They could easily imagine everyone within twenty yards of Ellie reacting to the sudden assault on their eardrums.

"That's great news, little brother!"

"See you later," he said and hung up.

In Echo Park Ellie was ecstatic.

"They are coming back," she said gleefully.

"I guess it's time for us to start packing, Miller," said Forrest.

"You are not going anywhere," Ellie said firmly. "You'll stay for the party." She would not take no for an answer. The two agents understood and did not attempt to talk their way out. Instead, they offered to help. Within minutes everyone, including Kathleen and Alex who'd volunteered to help as well, had an assigned task.

Casey parked the car by the back door of the Orange Orange. Once inside, he called the Buy More and had one of the agents return the car to the LA Port Authority. Downstairs, they all gathered in the main room and activated the communications link.

"Hello boys and girl," General Beckman said. "Agent Forrest told me you made it."

"Yes ma'am," said Casey. "It was a very interesting mission."

They proceeded to tell her all about Dr. Scott Kerr, his invention and their experience of the Game. Needless to say, at some points Beckman looked disbelieving, incredulous and even excited. Scott had also given them some discs with the replay of their training session in his virtual world and they uploaded the video from one to the General's computer. She watched it with rapt fascination, finally convinced that it was all true. Her mind was churning with the implication of the invention's impact. It could truly revolutionize training. She promised to contact Dr. Kerr and make him a generous offer for his services. Then she signed off, after congratulating her agents on a job well done.

"What was all the talk about a party, Grimes?"

"Oh, Ellie promised to throw us a party when we returned. Chuck even got her to approve of his return to the spy business."

"That is good news. By the way, where's the Moron? And where's Walker?"

"They were here just a couple of minutes ago," Morgan replied, also looking around for the couple.

*disgusted grunt* (They must be getting freaky in the supply closet – again)

"What?"

"None of our business."

"Say no more," Morgan said with a sly grin. He'd finally put two and two together.

Chuck and Sarah were indeed in the supply closet, the only room in Castle offering some privacy, but they were not having intercourse. Sure, they were heavily making out (and groping), but that was all.

"I was so scared for you," Chuck said.

"Did Morgan tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"I told him to tell you that I love you, before the gas knocked me out."

"I saw the video, Sarah."

"I love you."

"I love you too." They started kissing again.

"We have to get ready for the party," Sarah said after breaking the kiss. "Fortunately, I have some casual clothes down here."

"So do I. But I need a shower first."

"Me too. I was the one who had to go for a midnight swim in the sea, remember?"

"How can I forget that? I felt like Sean Connery in Dr. No when I saw you coming ashore."

Fortunately the renovated Castle had more than adequate facilities, including shower stalls in both the men's and the women's locker rooms. Less than half an hour later, they were all freshly showered and in casual clothes. Sarah was stunning in a simple one-piece dress, the same one she'd worn while doing her shopping on her first day as Chuck's handler three years ago. Chuck chose to wear jeans and a button down shirt. Morgan preferred a polo shirt over his jeans, while Casey went for a blue button down shirt and slacks. After locking up they took Sarah's Porsche and Casey's Crown Vic and drove home.

-O-

Pregnant or not, Ellie knew how to organize a dinner or a party quickly and efficiently. This time she'd had plenty of help, which speeded up the whole process. Therefore, Ellie, Devon, Alex, Carina and Alex Forrest were assembled in the courtyard enjoying drinks – Ellie's did not contain any alcohol, but she'd have a glass of wine later – while Kathleen had gone to pick up something from the kitchen when Chuck, Sarah, Morgan and Casey arrived. Ellie was the first to see them and squealed happily as she ran and enveloped her brother in a crushing hug. He hugged her back with considerably more restraint and exchanged fist bumps with Devon. Carina threw her professional demeanor to the winds and gave Sarah a fierce hug. A smiling Forrest shook hands with Casey. The big surprise came when Alex McHugh launched herself at Morgan and planted a wanton, passionate kiss on his lips.

"Grimes! Grrr…" was Casey's reaction.

"We are both adults and we like each other," was Alex's reply.

*grunt* (I seriously question your maturity seeing you with the bearded troll)

"I knew only one man who could growl and grunt like this," said Kathleen as she returned to join the others, her voice breaking. "Alex?"

"Yes?" Forrest and Alex chorused.

"Not you, girls," she said. "You." She was pointing at Casey.

Casey looked awkward. He twitched uncomfortably, while his lips moved but no words came out.

"Hello Kathleen," he finally managed to say.

"Alexander Coburn," she said and came close to him. Without warning, she punched him as hard as she could, just like he'd taught her twenty years ago. Fortunately, he turned his head to go with the blow. Otherwise Kathleen might have ended up breaking some bones in her hand on his chiseled jaw. "That's for making me believe you were dead for twenty years."

"Kathleen, I," he began, but never finished the phrase as she grabbed him and planted one right on him.

"That's another thing I missed for twenty years. Now I'm convinced that I'm not dreaming." She turned to her daughter. "And you knew," she said accusingly.

"I only found out a few months ago. I didn't tell you because Dad had to find the courage to face you himself."

"Whatever. So, Alex, what do you call yourself these days?"

"John Casey."

"I like it. And take it easy on our girl's boyfriend. They are a cute couple."

*grunt* (only because you say so)

"That's my man. Grunting and grumpy. We need to talk. Explain everything to me and I'll see if it's worth forgiving you for everything you put me through."

"Kathleen, when he found out that he has a daughter, he went out of his way to get to know her and protect her… and you," Morgan said.

"And everything that happened all those months ago was because someone knew I used to be Alex Coburn," Casey offered.

"We'll talk all about this later. Now we have some celebrating to do."

The party was going well. Everyone was having fun. The food was excellent, while Awesome had taken good care of the liquid refreshments, alcoholic and otherwise. Devon, Ellie and Forrest were talking in a quiet corner. Morgan and his girlfriend were sitting on the fountain, watching Kathleen and Casey talk. Carina was laughing at a joke Chuck had told, her arm around Sarah's shoulders.

"When Chucky told me that you two are finally a couple, I was really excited. You are made for each other. I could tell from the very first moment I saw you together."

"Thank you Carina," Sarah said honestly.

"You know, I tried to seduce him back then, three years ago."

"You did WHAT?"

"Hey! I needed to see what the fuss was all about." Carina took another sip of her drink. Sarah was fuming, while Chuck had tensed, pondering ways to stop a catfight without hurting either girl or suffering too much damage himself in the process.

"Well, I shouldn't hold it against you. We were just a pretend couple at the time," Sarah said finally.

"See, Chuckles? I told you that she didn't know it herself!"

"What didn't I know?"

"That you wanted him, silly."

"Truth is, I fell for him a few weeks before you showed up, but yeah, I didn't exactly know what I was feeling."

"And Chuck Bartowski is the big black mark on my seduction record. He was so in love with you, even back then, that he didn't take the bait when I mentioned your relationship with Bryce. He remained faithful to you. I determined then and there that he was the right guy for my baby sister. And he didn't prove me wrong."

"What? Rewind please. You two are sisters?"

"Yup. Sarah, I ran into Dad in DC last week, by the way."

"How's ol' Jack Burton?" Chuck asked.

"He's fine. He told me he left the con business, he was getting too old for that."

"What is he going to do now?"

"That's the best part. He's doing absolutely nothing."

"Nothing?"

"He won a tidy sum in the lottery."

"He always had luck on his side."

"He's planning to move to LA soon. He wants to be near you, and he knows that I won't be able to stay away from either of you for long. Now, what's the deal with Johnny and Kathleen? I'm confused. I mean, they apparently have a past, but…"

"Casey was Alex Coburn before he faked his death and joined the NSA. What he didn't know was that Kathleen was pregnant with their daughter at the time. We discovered that he has a family only recently. Kathleen was the last person to learn the truth."

"Oh. Well, good for them. Unfortunately for me, their little girl snagged Morgan."

"I'm impressed, sis. You didn't call him Martin this time. And what do you mean 'unfortunately for you'?"

"Forgot to tell you; the last time I was here, he and I…"

"You didn't!"

"I did. Little Alex is lucky. The boy knows how to satisfy a girl."

"Your slutdom knows no bounds," Sarah said, feigning disgust.

"Basically, what turned me on was the fact that he told me to take a hike."

"We saw that on the surveillance," Chuck interjected.

"And since I didn't want yet another big black mark on my seduction record right next to Chuck, the only one to say no up to that time…"

"Knowing you, it's totally believable."

"Excuse me, excuse me, please," Morgan said, standing on the rim of the fountain. "I have an announcement to make." All the others looked at him and kept quiet, waiting for him to continue. "As you know, I have the honor of being the manager of the most efficient Buy More in California. But I can't do everything myself. So, it is my pleasure to announce that the position of Assistant Manager goes to… John Casey!"

"Huh?"

"That's right, John. You are the best guy for the job. I consider it a privilege to be working with you."

"Enough with the ass kissing, numb nuts."

"Oh, no, it's not what you think. Being the AM, you can justify your absences from the store more easily, plus you've got absolute seniority over everyone in the, um, specialized staff."

"It makes sense, Casey," said Sarah.

"He's right," Chuck added.

"Did you clear it with the General?"

"I didn't have to. I'm sure she'll agree with me and she's given me carte blanche running the store anyway. Big Mike will also grease the wheels at corporate."

"Okay. I accept your offer, on two conditions."

"Deal."

"I didn't say what conditions."

"I don't care. Your conditions are met. What are they anyway?"

"One, I want to sell a Beast Master now and then."

"No problem."

"And two, I want to buy one myself."

"You'll get it as a bonus. But where are you going to put it? It's too big for your back yard."

"It's for Kathleen's place."

"Uh, come again?"

"I want to get to know my family better. The occasional barbecue will be a good opportunity to spend time together."

"OK. By the power vested in me by the Buy More and General Beckman, I hereby name you, John Casey, Assistant Manager of the Burbank branch." He handed him the AM vest with the appropriate pomp. "If Jeff and Lester ever call you 'Ass Man', do with them what you want," he whispered.

"For their sake, they'd better not."

"All hail the once and future Burbank Buy More Assistant Manager!"

"Congratulations, John," the assembled people chorused and applauded.

"My turn," said Ellie, standing next to Morgan. She took a deep breath and broke the news. "It's a girl!" More applause and cheering resulted from the declaration. Chuck and Sarah immediately hugged the happy mother to be and congratulated Devon. Casey took Morgan aside and sternly warned him that, if he broke his daughter's heart, he would break his everything. Morgan solemnly promised not to do anything by design or negligence to that effect.

The good mood kept the festivities going even past midnight, with the music turned off, in order not to disturb the neighbors. As Chuck had noticed, Casey and Kathleen had spent most of the time talking about the past twenty years. Awesome's cocktails had affected everyone, well, almost everyone as Ellie had not been drinking. Maybe it was due to the effects of the alcohol and the emotionally charged occasion that Casey and Kathleen were suddenly kissing passionately and getting all handsy with each other.

"Ew. Mom, Dad, get a room," Alex said. They didn't reply. Instead they both gave her the 'you wouldn't exist if we hadn't been that frisky (and in any case we are too drunk to care)' look, plus a Casey grunt – the mind your own business grunt – and they went back to what they were doing.

Not long later, it was obvious that it was time for everyone to go to bed. Awesome called a cab for Alex Forrest and she left for her hotel after saying goodbye. Ellie insisted to have Carina stay in the guest bedroom of Casa Woodcomb, as she wanted to get the chance to know her future sister in law's sister better. Morgan and Alex retired to his room. Casey showed Kathleen his place and she was moved to see framed enlargements of the last photos they had taken in that booth so long ago (showing a serious LT Coburn and a young Kathleen who was sticking her tongue out at the camera), as well as photos of their daughter livening up the place. They had a lot of catching up to do and they would need the entire weekend for that.

As for Chuck and Sarah…

They staggered drunkenly to their room and changed into their sleepwear. Chuck got in bed, turned out the light on his nightstand and promptly fell asleep. On her side, Sarah propped herself up on one elbow and watched him for a few minutes.

"I love you Chuck," she began, "and I'm happy that we don't have any secrets between us. Hell, you just learned one I'd totally forgotten to tell you about my family. Some day we will find your mom and then we will have our own family, complete with kids running around underfoot. I know, I freaked out for nothing, but now the more I think of it, the more I like the idea of being a wife and mother. I love you too much not to. In fact, if you were to propose to me tomorrow, I'd say yes without a moment's hesitation." When she finished her little speech, Chuck had a wide smile on his face as his subconscious processed what she'd told him. She gave him a feather light kiss on the lips, snuggled up against him and closed her eyes. She fell asleep listening to the rhythmic beat of his heart, while thinking about spending a quiet, pleasant weekend with Carina, Chuck, his family and all their friends.

* * *

**THE END**

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Another story completed.

Yet again, a big thank you for sticking around to the end and for your feedback and comments.


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